An Unexpected Journey
by White Wolf Writers
Summary: Neera is just a normal girl taking care of her little brother when one day her whole world gets turned upside down. Thrown into the world of Treasure Planet, it's all Neera can do to keep her sanity. But can one James Hawkins do something to help her? And what will happen if she accidentally reveals the movies' plot to the characters? All while keeping an eye an her brother? JimXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! This is your author speaking! Thank you for choosing SexyDemonNeko Fan Fictions! Please, sit back, relax and cheer on your favorite characters! Comments and reviews are highly appreciated as they will be taken into consideration to make your reading experience more pleasant. **

**Just kidding! But seriously, comments and reviews make authors happy.**

**Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

It was a typical day for Neera. Only 11 days into summer vacation and she already wished school would start, she was so _bored_! Her parents had gone off to work as usual, leaving her and her 3-year old brother Michael, to find something to entertain them for the day. Neera sighed as she struggled to get Michael dressed so they could go to the park so the little ball of fire could burn off some steam. She was the only one who seemed to even care about the well-being of the little squirt. She spent time and played with him, took him to daycare, dressed him and fed him. Her parents were never around to do these seemingly menial things. Neera sighed. Only 18 and already a better parent than those who spawned her and her brother.

After nearly 6 hours at the park, an exhausted Neera and a (thankfully) tired Michael had managed to drag themselves in the door. Neera collapsed on the couch; Michael on his favorite fluffy rug on the floor in front of the TV. Looking around the living room, Neera wondered why her parents worked so much. They had everything they needed and more. Except family time. Just a big, empty house filled with useless junk in her eyes.

Neera looked at her dozing little brother. Bright, wavy blond hair that captured the sunlight, and when they were open, blue eyes that shone like the sea. Almost the complete opposite of herself. Neera had straight red-brown hair and brown eyes. The only characteristic that the 2 siblings had in common was the lightly tanned skin dusted with barely-noticeable freckles.

All of a sudden the phone rang in the hallway. Neera groaned, feeling the exertion of today's games coming back to hit her full force. She grabbed the phone on the 4th ring.

"Hello this is the Knight's residence," Neera said, watching her brother roll around lazily on his rug.

_'Yes? Hello Neera, it's Mom,'_ Neera tensed, _'Hey honey, there's been a change of plans at the company your father and I are visiting and we have to extend our stay a little longer…'_ her mom trailed off. Neera swallowed.

"How long do you have to stay?"

_'About a week, but not to worry honey! We'll bring back lots of souvenirs!'_ Neera was tempted to hang up then and there.

"Mom? Mike's birthday is 3 days from now. You said you'd be here for it this year. You _promised!_" Neera seethed as she heard her mom talking to someone in the background, most likely her dad. She turned to watch Mike crawl on the couch, watching her. She smiled at him before turning back to the conversation. Her mom was still talking to her dad.

_'I know honey but this is just something we can't do anything about!'_ Neera could almost see her mom make a pleading face, _'We'll make it next year. We promise for sure this time. In the mean time, have fun ok? Take care, we love you! Bye!'_ Silence. Neera hung up the phone, standing over the device, staring blankly at it. Shaking her head she turned back into the living room where her brother was waiting.

"Hey Mike?" he looked at her expectantly, "Wanna watch a movie?" His face lit up like the 4th of July and rushed to the movie cabinet.

~o0O0o~

"Treasure Pwanet! Treasure Pwanet! Treasure Pwanet!" Mike sang as he jumped up and down on the couch. Neera smiled from the kitchen listening to her brother.

"Ok!" she called digging around the pantry, "Popcorn, candy or ice cream?"

"Treasure Pwanet! Treasure Pwanet! TREASURE PWANET!" the screams rose in volume as the owner tore around the corner of the kitchen, "Da cyborgs are attacking! Quick Mr. Arrow! Fire all de laser canons!" Mike waved a foam sword around, battling the invisible enemies that surrounded him; a pirate hat with a big red feather perched proudly upon his golden head. Neera laughed.

"All 3 it is then! Popcorn, candy _and_ ice cream for my hero!" Neera clasped her hands together making smooching noises. But Mike had different plans.

"Look at aaaaall dis booty!" he beamed at the snacks and turning to her, "Quick! Da pirates are coming! We have to get on da boat! ALL WEIGH ANCHOR!" and with that the little pirate disappeared into the living room. Neera laughed again careful to not drop the 'booty' on the way to the couch, which Mike had dubbed his 'ship'.

Slipping the disk into the player, she flopped down next to Mike who was already digging into the ice cream. The movie was going great. They had gotten to where Jim, Sara and Doppler were discussing going to Treasure Planet. Then at the part where Dr. Doppler was zooming in on the Montressor Spaceport, the image froze. Mike made a noise between confusion and surprise. Neera got up to check the TV. Nothing was wrong with it. She smacked it a couple times for good measure. Mike had gotten up and hit the TV with his harmless foam sword, demanding it walk the plank.

"Hold on a sec Mike, I'll get it up and running again. Don't you worry," Neera ejected the disk, but the image was still frozen on the screen. Mike tapped it a few more times. She checked all the cables, nothing was wrong. In the end she unplugged everything, but the image was still on the screen!

_'Alrighty then! That's not normal as far as I know…'_ Neera sat back. Mike came and plopped down next to her snacking on some gummibears.

"Nee-nee?" Mike tugged her out of her thoughts with his nick-name for her. Glancing at the screen, she saw a little white square in the middle of the still-frozen image of the Montressor Spaceport. It seemed to be getting bigger.

All of a sudden a bright light surrounded them. Mike screamed, grabbing onto her leg tightly. Neera panicked and grabbed Mike when she felt the floor disappear out from under them. A strong wind tore around them as the light grew brighter and the siblings closed their eyes. Not long after, Neera could feel something solid form underneath her feet. Still holding her trembling brother, she opened her eyes revealing strange shapes and colors. The sights, smells and sounds bombarded the pair all at once. Neera held Mike a little closer as she looked around getting a bearing on where the hell she was. She gasped loudly when she saw a _huge_ floating ship above her. On its side, it read the _RLS Legacy._

Neera realized with a jolt that she knew where they were. Montressor Spaceport. In the movie they were just watching. Mike looked around and whispered excitedly, "Treasure Pwanet!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Woohoo! Another chapter well under way! A quick heads up to all the readers, I will try to update weekly but if I don't, it's because I was attacked and eaten by my pet Giant Squid that's living in my bathtub.**

**Aaaaand OPEN CURTAIN!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

Neera still held up her brother as they approached the RLS Legacy. She didn't know what was going on, why they were there or even how the hell they'd managed it. But, she thought rationally, she had some idea as to what to expect. She'd seen the movie so that should help them at least a little, right?

She found herself walking the plank onto the ship. Mike stared in awe at the golden sails, the rich wood, and the people! He'd never seen anything like it. He could have sworn he'd seen a slug-like thing with more eyes than he could count, but that didn't help much since he could only count to 10; he always forgot what came after. Neera was also impressed with the ship works but she had more important things to attend to.

"You there!" Neera froze, clutching Mike closer before turning. What she saw took her breath away. A big hulking figure of a rock towered before her. Given, Neera had always been on the shorter side of things but this…thing…positively dwarfed her. She set Mike down, who clutched her leg, not even thinking about running off. The huge mass of rock bore over her before speaking again, "Are you the new cabin girl?" it asked.

Neera didn't reply. She just stared openly at the rock person in front of her. Mike had to dig his little fingers into her leg to shake her out of her stupor, "I…uh… I am," she started but the hulking mass of rock held up his hand, efficiently stopping her.

"You should have been here almost 10 minutes ago to help prepare for launch. But no matter. I'll show you to your quarters in the galley and introduce you to the cook whom you will be working for," The hulking rock peered down Neera's legs at the little person who had attached itself there, "And who might this be?" The tone of its voice sent a small wave of panic through her body as Mike stepped forward before she could stop him.

"Dis is Neera and I'm Mike at your service Mr. Arrow!" Mike stood up as tall as he could, his little hand coming up in a salute under his hat with the feather. Mr. Arrow seemed to smile, _'Could a rock even smile?'_ and chuckled.

"Well it seems as if young Mike will be an aspiring cabin boy! Are you his mother? Mothers aren't primarily allowed on a ship as you know," at his question, Neera shook her head, a sigh of relief escaping her. She thought Mr. Arrow was going to kick them off the boat.

"He's my little brother. He won't be a bother I promise!" Neera assured. Mr. Arrow seemed satisfied, hollered a few orders and had them follow him down to the kitchens.

When they reached the kitchens, the siblings could hear someone whistling.

"Mr. Silver!" Mr. Arrow boomed right behind Neera.

"Why, Mista Arrow sir! Bringin' such a youn' lass and little laddie to grace mah humble galley! Had I known, I'd hav' tucked in meh shirt!" Silver chuckled and walked out of the steam, revealing a mechanical arm and leg. His little golden eye swept over Neera and Mike who whispered excitedly, "Cyborg! Look Nee-Nee!"

"Mr. Silver, these two will be the new cabin boy and girl. This is Mike and…"

"Neera."

"And Neera. They are in your charge now."

The food Silver had been tasting went flying and he coughed.

"Beggin' yer pardon sir but…"

"Captain's orders!" Mr. Arrow interrupted, "See to it that those two are kept busy," and with that, he left the kitchen.

Silver sighed and looked them over again. Mike couldn't hide his excitement.

"You a cyborg aren't you!" he squeaked, a broad grin on his face. His energy was contagious because soon Silver was smiling too.

"Aye that I am boy. So tell meh…" Silver set to work making a stew of some sort, "How old are yeh laddie?" Mike looked at his fingers, face scrunched up in concentration. Silver watched as he looked towards his sister who showed him three fingers. Mike turned back to Silver and held up three fingers happily.

"I'm dis many!" Mike beamed and Silver smiled. He glanced at Neera who shrugged.

"That many eh? Why, yer almost a man! Gotta take care of yeh mum now dontcha?" he looked surprised when Mike started laughing. He glanced over at Neera who had facepalmed.

"He's my brother," Neera said as her hand slid slowly down her face. Silver made an 'Ah!' sound before turning back to the pot of stew. Mike followed him and started asking tons of questions about what it was like to have metal arms and legs, if he had x-ray vision and if he could shoot lasers. Silver set Neera to work; she put her hair in a ponytail and set to work on the dishes while Mike got to watch her humming something that sounded ironically like 'Yoho Yoho A Pirate's Life For Me!'

It wasn't long till Mr. Arrow came back down, followed by a dog-man and a boy. Neera couldn't see through the thick steam the stew produced but she assumed it was Dr. Doppler and Jim Hawkins. He was the main character of this movie after all; she rolled her eyes and continued washing the dishes. She could hear Silver talking the newcomers and offering them each a bowl of the stew he'd been working on before standing back. An outburst from Dr. Doppler told Neera that he'd discovered the eyeball in his soup.

"And cue Morph," Neera muttered to Mike almost silently. Although Silver didn't appear to have heard anything, his mechanical ear did. He glanced at her warily out of the corner of his normal eye. She could hear Jim ask "What is that thing?" only to hear it mirrored back in a higher squeaky voice. It was only after Silver had begun crooning to the little shape shifter that Mr. Arrow and Dr. Doppler left the kitchen. Silver turned to the pillar of steam issuing from the pot.

"Right then! C'mon out and say hello to yer fellow cabin boy," Jim looked around. He didn't know that there was anyone else in here except Silver and himself. Neera dried her hands and picked up Mike.

"Aye aye, Sir!" came a little voice. Jim raised an eyebrow.

Coming out from behind the steaming pot and Silver, stood a girl and a little boy. The boy sat on the girl's hip and stared at him with big and wide blue eyes and had golden-yellow hair; he was wearing a yellow T-shirt and a pair of over-sized blue overalls. The girl stood tall and straight, only a little shorter than Jim, in a green tank top and shorts that went to her knees. She had red-brown hair up in a ponytail and big brown eyes that didn't back down when his eyes found hers. Jim was amazed. They were such a clear, rich chocolate brown. The little blonde boy said something and the girl broke eye contact to look at him. She set him down and he walked up to Jim.

"Hiya Jimbo," the boy used the nick-name Silver gave him, "I'm Mike and dis is mah sister Neera," Jim glanced at Neera. She fidgeted with her pants pocket a little before the boy spoke again, "Do ya have de ball to Treasure Pwanet?" Almost as soon as the words had left his mouth, his sister Neera had grabbed him, hand over his mouth.

"Ah ha ha ha! I bet you wanna play ball don't you Mike!" Neera laughed nervously, backing away from Jim who continued staring between her and Mike. Silver coughed into his normal hand turning to the stew pot. A high-pitched whistle tore through the air.

"Well yeh best be gettin' uptop if yeh wanna watch the launch," Silver brought out a large pot of water. Mike looked at his sister pleadingly as she smiled.

"You wanna watch them take off?" she asked as if she didn't already know the answer. Mike nodded so fast she thought his head would fall off. Laughing, she set him down and watched him scuttle up the stairs as fast as his little legs could go. Glancing at Jim, Neera followed Mike.

Up on deck, orders were being hollered and the crew was running around getting everything ready. Neera found Mike climbing the stairs to the thing where they steer the ship, Neera had no clue what it was called.

"Loose all solar sails!" Mr. Arrow's voice boomed as the golden sail were released from their ropes. Neera made it to the platform where Mike was standing next to Dr. Doppler looking up at him. He giggled.

"You're gonna fall!" Mike chimed, the doctor looking confusedly from Neera to Mike. Neera could only smile apologetically.

From this position on the ship, Neera and Mike could see everything. Even Jim who was looking around with awe, much like Mike did when they first stepped foot on the ship.

Jim had never seen anything like it. He stood near the main mast where the solar power was being transferred from the sails to the main engine. Before he knew it, the gravity had lessened and everything that wasn't tied down began floating around. He heard a startled cry and looked to see Neera holding onto the railing looking out into the expanse above the deck. He followed her eyes and found Mike had kicked off the steering platform and was gently floating away from his frantic sister having the time of his life. In the background, Jim could hear Captain Amelia give the orders to engage artificial gravity. At this point Neera was panicking. If the gravity kicked in now, Mike would have a long way to fall to the main deck. Without thinking, Neera kicked off the wall propelling herself towards Mike. Jim watched as Mr. Snuff pulled the lever activating the artificial gravity just as Neera got a grip on Mike. Wrapping herself around him, they plunged to the main deck. Jim watched as the two slammed into the deck rather hard.

As he approached, he saw Neera unwrap her arms from Mike. Needless to say, he was impressed. The girl had taken the full brunt of the fall for the boy. She struggled to sit up but when she did she embraced the boy who looked like he was about to cry. Jim could hear him apologizing as the girl stroked his head gently. Pulling away, she smiled at the boy. He looked on entranced as Neera picked up her brother and limped to the stairs and sat down, leaning back against the wood. Coming closer, he heard Neera's next words.

"Ok Mike? We're gonna launch now. Lean up against the wall so you don't end up like Dr. Doppler," Neera smiled painfully at Mike, "Do you remember what happens to Dr. Doppler?" Mike laughed and nodded.

"He falls down and screams AARGH!" Mike imitated someone screaming in horror and laughed. Jim raised an eyebrow.

_'Well that's strange.'_

As if on cue, the _RLS Legacy_ lurched into orbit sending Dr. Doppler flying backwards screaming. Jim stared in awe. The kid was right!

Jim watched Silver greet the captain. He saw her refer to him, Neera and Mike with a wave of her hand. Silver slumped before standing up straight and bowing to the captain.

"Neera! Mike! Jimbo! C'mere fer a moment will ya?" Silver watched the kids make their ways over to him. He noticed Neera had a slight limp, "Now whatcha gone and done Neera? Haven't even been on this boat 2 minutes and yer already hurtin'!" Neera smiled apologetically.

"She went flying to catch me!" Mike piped up. Silver looked at him confused. Mike tried to explain further but he just made the confusion worse. If Jim hadn't seen Neera's stunt himself, he would have no idea what the little squirt was talking about.

"He got knocked into the air and she went after him when the gravity was turned on," Jim explained. Mike smiled at him thankfully while Silver looked at Neera.

"So yeh caught him and took the fall for him?" Neera looked at him and nodded. Silver laughed, "Well yeh got nerve, I'll give yeh that! Don't let it happen again, ya hear?" Neera and Mike nodded, "Anyways I have two friends who I'd like yeh three to meet!" Silver stood, hands behind his back, Jim looked around, Neera sighed. She knew where this was going so she muttered along under her breath just loud enough for Mike to hear, "Say hello to Mr. Mop," he threw the mop at Jim, "And Mrs. Bucket," he threw the bucket at Neera. She rolled her eyes and smiled down at Mike who was smiling like an idiot. Jim just looked at the two.

_'There's something strange about these two,'_ he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**And we're back with another chapter! I added two chapters to this one, cause the original plan only was like ridiculously short, so this is much better! **

**Disclaimer! (I keep forgetting to add this to every chapter) I DO NOT OWN TREASURE PLANET!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

"Yeah I got you Mr. Mop!" Jim muttered under his breath as he and Neera mopped the deck. Mike was playing with Morph a distance away but close enough to where Neera could keep an eye on him. Jim watched her as she scrubbed the floor.

"So…Neera, huh?" Jim started casually, she didn't stop her work but she glanced up at him showing him that he had her attention, "Where are you and Mike from anyway? You look like you've never seen a ship before," Jim continued mopping as Neera hesitated.

"Mike and I come from a place where there are no ships like this," Jim stopped and looked at her as she continued, "Where we come from, ships sail across great bodies of water, not space." Jim wondered what kind of place was like that. Not sailing in space, it was a laughable idea!

What they didn't know was that Silver was listening in on their conversation from the shadows. He was as confused as Jim was. Not sailing in space?! Only on great bodies of water? What a strange pair of kids he thought before turning back to his work.

"So where _are_ you two from?" Jim pressed. Jim watched as she worried her lip.

"Um…Do I have to answer?" she stammered nervously. Jim shook his head.

"Not if you don't want to," Neera relaxed her shoulders and continued scrubbing, "How old are you?" Jim added without looking up from his work.

"18. You?"

"20. Aren't you a little young to be raising a kid?" Jim asked eying Mike who was attempting to squish Morph with his little hand. It wasn't working. Neera laughed.

"Totally. Seriously, how many girls my age do you see taking care of a kid?" Neera chuckled and Jim smiled a little.

"Not many. That's usually the mom's jobs," Jim thought of his mom back home.

"Yeah. A mom's job…" Neera trailed off. Jim looked at her but didn't say anything.

Mike was laughing at something Morph was doing. Neera watched him. Jim noticed.

"He means a lot to you doesn't he?" she looked up at him this time eyes meeting. Deep, chocolate brown met blue gray. They stayed that way for a while before she nodded. Jim looked around. Mike was still playing with Morph a distance away but he let his eyes wander to the other crew members who were hanging out on deck. A threesome was discussing something in hushed voices before they noticed him.

"What are you looking at weirdo?" one guy said before another followed.

"Yeah! Weirdo!"

"Jim, don't fall for it," Jim heard Neera whispered under her breath, before he heard hissing coming from above. A spider-like bug thing was crawling down the ropes straight for him.

"Cabin boyss should learn to mind their own businesss," spider-guy hissed.

Jim could feel Neera's eyes on him so he decided to try his luck.

"Why? You got something to hide, Bright Eyes?" Jim glanced at Neera who just shook her head sadly.

Spider-guy didn't seem to appreciate Jim's sense of humor, "Maybe you earss don't work sso well," he hissed, grabbing the collar of Jim's shirt pulling him close. Jim nearly gagged.

"Yeah, ugh! Too bad my nose works just fine," this seemed to just pour gas on the fire.

"Why you impudent little RAGH!" Spider-guy slammed Jim up against the mast, giant red claw at his throat, "Any last words, Cabin Boy?"

_Plonk!_

A small hand scrubber bounced neatly off Spider-guy's head. He and Jim turned to see Neera walk up to them calmly and pick up the scrubber.

"Whoops! Sorry! My hand slipped," Neera looked from Jim to the Spider-guy, "Now put him down! I'd hate to wash spider gunk off the floors. You see, I only just washed them," Neera finished just as Spider-guy struck her with his free claw, sending her to the floor. The crew that had gathered around cheered but Neera got back on her feet. Blood oozed from a cut on her cheek. Wiping it she looked angrily at the blood smeared on her hand, "Oh dear! I wonder how I'm gonna _explain to the good captain_ that I've been injured!" She watched as Silver reached past her and grabbed Spider-guy's free arm.

"Mr. Scroop?" Silver took a big juicy bite out of a perp, "Do you ever see what happens to a fresh perp, when you squeeze. Real. Hard!" Silver twisted Mr. Scroop's claw, forcing him to release Jim who collapsed on the ground. Neera helped him to his feet as Mr. Arrow cleared out the crew and threatened Mr. Scroop.

~o0O0o~

"Sit still you dummy!" Neera sat next to Jim applying antibiotic to the small cuts on the sides of his neck where Mr. Scroop's claw had cut. Mike sat on the opposite side watching them intensely.

"Ow! Well if it didn't hurt so bad, I wouldn't move," Jim said eyeing the bandaged cut on Neera's cheek, "Sorry you got hurt by the way. You weren't supposed to get involved." Neera snorted.

"Ya think? I told you not to fall for it and yet you walked right into it! I don't even know why I helped you, Silver was gonna come save you anyway," Neera dabbed more antibiotic on a cut. Mike smiled at Jim.

"What?"

"My sister knows everything! About Silver, you and Treasu-umph!" Neera stuffed a perp in Mike's mouth. Jim looked at her strangely.

"Mike, don't talk about things you don't understand…" Neera finished bandaging the cuts, "C'mon Mike it's about time you went to bed. Jim, I'll be right back," and with that she left hand-in-hand with Mike. Jim took up the mop again, watching Neera disappear below deck to the cabin boys/girls cabin. Neera got her own room because according to the captain she was a lady and it would be seen as improper to have a young lady sleep in a room full of men. And Mike, as her brother got to bunk with her.

Changing his mind about the mopping, he snuck towards Neera's quarters. Leaning against the door carefully, Jim listened in on the conversation inside.

"But why can't I talk bout it? Everyone knows what will happen!" Mike's voice was muffled by the door but Jim could still hear the words clearly.

"No they don't Mike. They don't know what gonna happen. This is their world, and if we say something about the future and it comes true they might take you from me. I don't want that happening. Do you?" Mike must have shaken his head because he didn't reply, "Good! I don't want to loose you. But we'll know if something bad's gonna happen and we'll run away from it ok?"

"Ok. Like when Silver takes over the ship?"

Jim froze. What had Mike just said? Silver? Take over the ship? It made his blood run cold.

"Yes exactly like that. But we still have a long time before that happens ok? Now Jim's waiting for me on deck and I gotta finish up the chores alright?"

"Mmkay," came the sleepy answer.

"Ok, I'll be back before you know it. Goodnight Mike," the voice was coming closer to the door. Jim padded down the hall as fast as he could and back up on deck before Neera could discover him.

Back on the deck, Jim gulped in the fresh air and tried slowing down his heartbeat. Seconds after he picked up the mop and set to work, Neera came up the stairs and looked at him. Smiling, she set to work and they finished the rest of the deck in silence. Morph was there making imitations of her and Jim while running around their ankles. Silver came up and dumped waste over the side of the ship and took a few steps towards them.

"Thank heavens for little miracles! Up here for a few hours and the deck's still in one piece," Silver looked them over, "Hey where's the squirt?"

Neera kept mopping, "I put him to bed. I'm doing his share of the chores so don't worry." Silver smiled leaning over the railing in between the two kids.

"The way yeh take care of the little lad, it's almost as if he's yer own," Silver and Jim watched her, observing her reactions. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, well someone has to look after him," she trailed off. The two men looked on confused.

"What about your mom and dad? Aren't they around?" Jim asked. Neera gave a short laugh.

"They come around every once in a while but that's like once in a blue moon," noting their baffled expressions she continued, "They're constantly working and hardly ever come home. They haven't even been to one of Mike's birthdays. Or mine now that I think about it," she added as an after-thought looking out into space. It was comforting, the ways the nebulas and the stars gently passed by in the night, mingling with the other colors of galaxies and far-away planets. She felt at peace. Then she yawned. She felt Silver come up on her right, leaning on the railing.

"I'm sorry lass," Silver followed her gaze and watched the stars.

"Ah it's no big deal. We're doing just fine," Neera sighed smiling. Silver scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Is that so?" he looked at Jim and Neera, "Well Neera, there's not a lot I can teach yeh 'bout raisin' a kid but I'll help yeh toughen him up a bit, and you Jimbo, I'm gonna be pounding some skills into that thick head o' yours to keep yeh outta trouble!" Jim looked at him in a mixture of anger and horror; Neera winced at the thought of Silver 'toughening' up her brother.

"From now on, I'm not letting either one of yeh outta meh sight! You two won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch yer bums without my say-so!"

"Don't do me any favors!" Jim cried as Silver laughed. Neera worried about Mike and what sort of exercises Silver would make him do to toughen him up.

"Yeh can be sure o' that my lad! Yeh can be sure o' that!"

Over the next few weeks, Silver had them doing everything he could think of. Jim and Mike were supposed to scrape off space-barnacles off the hull of the ship but Neera objected. She took her brother's place and struggled with Jim, scraping and hacking off the little buggers. Silver had taken Mike to go do something 'safer' than scraping barnacles and Neera didn't think Silver could come up with anything safer than scrubbing the floors so he got to do that. After a few nights, Mike's knees were red and sore but she couldn't take over his floor-scrubbing duties, lest Silver give him something worse to do.

On the day of Mike's birthday, Neera did double duty, taking up all of Mike's chores despite Silver's protests. She got permission from the captain to bake a small cake and both Jim and Silver watched on in amusement as she iced the number '4' in blue and presented it to Mike. As for presents, Mike didn't get much. Neera had managed to whip up a small bag of shiny coins from Dr. Doppler and Silver even gave him a nice pocket knife. Nothing big but he cherished it all the same and hugged an unsuspecting Silver's leg.

While Jim and Neera peeled potatoes, Mike would either feed the scraps to Morph or throw them in the trash. Sometimes though, Neera would allow him to practice so long as he went slow and was careful. She wasn't crazy bout giving a now-4-year old boy a knife but he had to practice of he wanted to be any good, according to Silver. He only cut his fingers a few times and each time he got better and better.

One day, Silver pulled the two of them aside and taught them how to tie a proper lifeline knot. Jim had already gotten the hang of it while Neera was still struggling. Knots, she could do, easily. Whenever she tried the lifeline knot, it would end up a jumbled mess with no end in sight. It would take her longer to untie whatever mess she'd created than it would be to make it. Jim and Mike would always sit by and laugh, watching her struggle. One time, Jim had said one word too many and she chased him around the deck yelling and screaming profanity; Silver had covering Mike's ears. Afterwards Silver had joked that he'd never once heard a sailor use so many swears and curses in a row, not to mention in such a colorful variety.

Whenever Silver was feeling nice, they'd all have scrubbing duty. Mike had turned it into a game, zooming back and forth across the floor with the scrubber as fast as he could. Jim and Neera would talk about the better childhood memories, laughing about the embarrassing or cringing at the painful. Then Jim had mentioned how impressed he was. She had looked at him in confusion so he elaborated. Firstly, the way she had taken the fall for Mike back on the first day; her standing up against Silver when he wanted Mike to do barnacle duty; how happy she was despite being dirty and exhausted from a day of double duty when she saw how happy Mike was when he saw the cake; and the care she took to bandaging him when he cut his fingers peeling potatoes. Jim laughed as Neera's cheeks burned a beautiful pink.

The next day, they had gotten a rare day off. The crew was celebrating with singing and dancing and drinking. Jim sat on an upturned bucket and watched Neera and Mike dance across the floor. Well Neera was doing the dancing. Mike would take turns being held by her and sashaying back and forth to standing awkwardly on her feet as they bounced around, Mike singing and laughing along as best he could. After a few hours most of the crew had retired drunk for the night leaving Jim, Silver, Neera and Mike on deck. Mike had pressed his sister to sing 'that one song from the movie.' Jim and Silver didn't have a clue what the boy was talking about but Neera did. And she started singing 'I'm Still Here' softly. After a few rounds, Silver and Jim picked up on it and sang with her. They weren't very good and slurred most of the words because of the drinks they had downed. Neera and Mike had laughed and had to help both drunkards to their bunks. Needless to say, they woke up with raging hangovers the next morning as did most of the crew.

At night before bed, Mike had taken to sitting in the galley where Silver would tell stories of cut-throats and other pirates, or great and bloody battles; his mechanical numbers aiding in his story telling. The next day, Mike would retell them to Neera to the best of his abilities, adding some of his own things every now and then. Things people didn't recognize, such as rocket ships and the like. That night Neera had warned Mike that talking about things from their world was a bad idea and he stopped. He added dragons instead.

One night when the tree of them were doing dishes, Silver came in with a ton more. They complained but set to work anyway. It was only after Mike had yawned that Silver volunteered to tuck him into bed so that Neera and Jim could finish up. After telling Mike a goodnight story and struggling to get the little ball of fire to settle down to sleep, he returned to the kitchen to find all the dishes clean and stacked on the tables and counters. Neera and Jim were passed out, slumped against each other in the corner. Draping his large jacket over the both of them, Jim stirred. Cracking one eye open, he saw Silver's mechanical leg disappear above deck. Feeling a weight on his shoulder, he glanced down and saw Neera leaning against his shoulder, sleeping peacefully. He took a moment to observe her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful sleeping there and the moonlight made her skin look pale and her hair redder. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and kissed her forehead and promptly fell back asleep. The next day, Silver had pulled Neera aside and asked her how in the world she dealt with bedtime every single day. She had just laughed and shrugged.

That day, Silver had to take out a long boat. Neera and Jim helped him depart, untying all the ropes and guiding it carefully out the hatch. After Silver had gone Jim looked dejectedly over the side, eyes glazed over in memory. Just as she was going to ask him what was wrong, Silver popped up inviting them out for a ride. Neera was about to refuse when Jim pushed her into the boat floating several meters below her. She landed in the long boat far from graceful, Jim right behind her. Without giving her a chance to chew out Jim for pushing her, Silver took off in any direction. Stopping to let Jim sail was a mistake in Neera's eyes. As soon as he had gotten a hold of the controls, he'd taken off in the direction of a comet, diving straight into its tail. Jim was having the time of his life, surfing around the tail, showing off his long boating skills to a flustered Neera. When he maneuvered the boat out of the tail, the silver dust had coated her gave her an ethereal look about her. And as she shook the dust out of her hair it looked blood red in contrast with the white of the dust. Jim had to admit it at least to himself that Neera looked beautiful at that moment.

When they came back from their trip she helped them tie up the boat. They joked about a few things, and poked fun a Jim for tripping over himself to help Neera with the rope. Silver gave a very vague explanation on how he lost his limbs. Neera was having such a good time that she complete forgot about the story line. A wave of heat knocked Silver and Jim onto her side of the boat before she remembered. The black hole!


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter time! I had so much fun writing this chapter. I love inflicting pain on my characters! (Yes yes, I know I'm a horrible person.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

"Shit!" Neera hissed, "Get to the deck! I have to go find Mike!" Just as they were about to ask her what was going on, she jumped off the boat, onto the catwalk and ran yelling over her shoulder, "Black hole! Now move dammit!"

Her first priority was Mike. Neera ran to their cabin room to find it empty. Heart pumping wildly she dashed for the deck seeing the mayhem. Watching it on screen had nothing with real life. The heat would have been downright unbearable if not for the massive amounts of adrenaline coursing through her body at this moment. Miniscule chunks of asteroid littered the deck scorching the wood as waves of relentless heat blew through the air.

"All hands, fasten your lifelines!" Mr. Arrow hollered through the chaos. Grabbing a line, Neera tried without success to tie the lifeline knot.

"Dammit!" She screamed before feeling someone reach past her and tying it for her. Looking up she saw Jim as he finished her knot. She managed to thank him before running off in search of her brother.

"Mike! Mike! MIKE!" Neera called frantically, panic raising its ugly head within her. "MIKE!" She thought she heard someone call her name. Turning she looked at the captain and Dr. Doppler. Slipping on the deck as another wave hit the ship, Neera scrambled up to the steering platform. Dr. Doppler was talking about some random numbers when she found her voice.

"It's gonna turn into a back hole!" Doppler and Amelia looked at her in shock, "That star! It's gone supernova! Doc! You got the numbers! Read them! And LEAVE THE SAILS DOWN!" Neera called over her shoulder as she jumped down the stairs continuing the search for her brother.

Jim checked and double checked the lifelines before reporting to Amelia.

"All lifelines secured Captain!"

He ran to Silver who was heading to secure the sails. Jim helped pull the rope and secures the sails despite the painful blisters he would feel after the adrenaline wore off. A small meteor whizzed by his head, making his hair sizzle slightly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Silver begin to fall. It was as if everything were in slow motion, Silver's face widening in shock as he lost his balance. Jim willed his body to move faster and caught Silver's lifeline. Scrambling to pull him up, he secured Silver's ruined lifeline, burned through by a stray meteor.

"Thanks lad!" Silver thanked him before his face widened further into shock. Turning to see what he was looking at, he saw a humongous asteroid heading straight for them. The laser cannons didn't seem to be doing anything to it. As it drew closer, he and Silver clenched their eyes shut, waiting for impact. But it never came. Cracking open his eyes a little only to open them fully in shock. Silver followed. The huge asteroid was being pulled back from them! But instead of feeling relieved, Jim felt a deep sense of horror settling in his gut.

"C'mon lad! We got to get to the deck!" Silver yelled over the raging winds. Jim only managed to nod.

"Captain! I don't believe it! Neera was right! It's evolving into a Black Hole!" Dr. Doppler and Amelia watched as twin streams of fire circled and were swallowed by the black vortex.

"We're being pulled in!" the tentacled crewman struggled with the steering wheel before being thrown to the side by the force. Captain Amelia took immediate action.

"Oh no you don't!" the feline growled, grabbing the wheel and struggling to right it. The ship continued careening out of control, sucked closer to the endless vortex. A huge wave of fire effectively knocked everyone on board off their feet.

"Blast these waves! They're so deucedly erratic!" Amelia called to Doppler.

"No Captain! They're not erratic at all! There'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds! Followed by the biggest mega of them all!"

"_MIKE!_" Neera screamed. She was positively terror stricken now. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall and the heat was making breathing hard. She couldn't find her brother anywhere. Horrible scenarios flew in front of her eyes all of them including Mike's lifeline being cut and him falling into the dark abyss that threatened to swallow them all. The very thought felt like a hand gripped her throat and wrenched out her still-beating heart. She felt sick.

"NEERA!" came the cry from the very tip of the ship. Mike had pressed himself in between the boxes there, no lifeline whatsoever. Relief and horror bloomed in her veins as she darted forward clutching Mike's little body close to hers. Parts of his arms were slightly singed, shiny pink and blistering.

"C'mon lets get you inside," Neera whispered in his ear, turning to go back the way she had come. Not daring to run, Neera walked briskly towards the doors to the galley.

"Hold onto your lifelines, Gents! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Neera heard Captain Amelia call to all onboard. Panic coursed through her blood again. She'd never make it to the safety of the galley before that wave hit. Breaking into a run, someone bumped harshly into her and she fell against the mast empty-handed. Mike had slipped out her arms when she fell. He was laying a few meters away; terror marked his face as the heat reddened his face considerably. Crawling towards him, she noticed the blackness of the vortex surrounding them. It wouldn't be long before she wouldn't be able to see her hand in front of her face. Standing up, she took a few running steps towards Mike who lay frozen with fear on the deck. Neera knew she didn't have time to make it to the galley with Mike so she wrapped herself around him like a blanket, shoving him under her shirt, shielding him from everything.

Darkness seeped up consuming everything with black. And for a few terrible seconds, nothing happened. There was nothing to see except blackness, nothing to hear but deafening silence. Then a small explosion and a deep grumblings noise that steadily grew louder and louder. Then the solar sails glowed brightly, absorbing the energy from the blast, sending the _RLS Legacy_ flying away from the horrible disaster. The sudden lurch sent Neera tumbling into the railing where she cried out in pain, clutching Mike closer still.

It was only when she heard the cheering for the brave Captain Amelia that Neera knew they were in the clear. Releasing Mike from his human cage, she smiled at him.

"Are you alright Mike?" Neera panted slightly, taking in wonderfully cool breaths of fresh air into her lungs. Black spots threatened her vision but she pushed the feeling away. Mike looked over his body. Despite his minor burns and blisters on his arms, he was not in danger.

Mike nodded, "Yeah I'm ok."

Neera smiled fully and gratefully before she let darkness consume her.


	5. Chapter 5

**And hello! Newest chapter uploaded and posted on the originally planned Monday! I feel so proud of myself right now! *treats self to chocolate chip cookie* Yum!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure planet! It belongs to it's rightful owners!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

"Good job lad!" Silver bellowed, smacking Jim on the shoulder nearly making him collapse. He grinned. He was just about to thank the cyborg for teaching him how to tie a proper lifeline knot when something small ran into his legs, nearly knocking him over. Looking down at the thing that had rammed him, he was surprised to see Mike look up at him, red-faced, teary-eyed and hiccupping loudly. He was trying to say something but his hiccups kept interrupting him, sending small spasms shooting through his body.

"What is it laddie?" Silver bent down and scooped up the boy, who had started sobbing again.

"...s-she's… d-de-dead…she-she's d-dead…." And more wailing ensued as Mike buried his head in Silver's shoulder. Jim stopped breathing.

"Where is she? Mike? Where is she?" Jim asked, voice shaking. The little boy lifted his head slightly and pointed to the railing. Jim rushed over, pushing several crew members to the side in his haste, Silver at his heels. There, on the ground against the railing, lay Neera's burned body. Jim slowly kneeled as Mike wailed. By now, most of the crew had noticed and were gathering around. Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler made their way to the front of the crowd where Jim sat holding Neera's limp body as Mike crawled towards her and cried into her lap. Silence engulfed the ship like a wave, only the sound of Mike's wailing and a few hushed whispers were heard.

"Neera?" Jim asked, turning her head to face him. Mike curled up in his sister's chest, hugging her and crying into her torn and burnt shirt. Silver knelt beside them, hat over his heart in respect before gently prying Mike off of her body.

"C'mon now lad. There's nuthin' we can do now," Mike started wailing harder as Silver lifted him from his sister, screaming her name.

"Neera! Neera! Wake up Neera, please! NEERA!" Jim could feel tears swimming in his eyes as he tried to block out Mike's hysterical cries for his sister but he held them back. Neera lay so still in his arms. Staring at her face he saw it. Barely visible but definitely there! Her eye twitched! She started fidgeting in his lap. Jim could hardly believe it! She's alive!

"She's alive," Jim whispered before repeating himself only louder, "She's alive! Doc! Help me! She's alive!" Mike had stopped bawling into Silver's shirt staring at Jim, "She's alive!"

Mike squirmed frantically in Silver's arms so that the old cyborg was forced to drop him. Hitting the deck, he scrambled over to Neera who was wincing in pain. Dr. Doppler right behind him.

"Nee-nee?" Mike's voice called out, small and shaking. He brought his hand up to her face, and poked her lightly in the face like he used to do when he woke up before her back at home. Neera flinched at the contact but Mike kept prodding her, chanting her name over and over again like a mantra. Big, brown eyes opened slightly, taking everything in.

"Mike?" her voice was hoarse and cracked but Silver let out a bark-like laugh. Mike started crying again and nodded with a small smile. Jim couldn't believe it! She was still here with him.

"Well let's get her to the Doc's room then," Silver knelt and picked up Neera who winced again at the contact. Doc was complaining that he simply _wasn't_ a real doctor but he complied anyway. Lifting her through the galley into the Doc's room, Jim cleared a table and Silver laid her on her stomach. Doppler had found the 1st aid kit and propped it up near Neera's feet. The Doc found a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut off the remnants of Neera's shirt. When the scraps fell away, everyone present gasped. Her back was covered in various degrees of burns and multiple dark purple, bleeding wounds the size of small rocks were spotted all over her back. The purple wounds almost looked like a constellation, but the people present had their minds on more important things. Neera winced and moaned painfully. Jim gaped at the wound before Silver spoke up.

"Doc! Fetch some bandages an' ice water! Captain, I'm going to need the strongest brandy yeh got!" and Silver set to work.

As soon as Amelia brought in the brandy, he took a quick swig before handing it to the barely conscious Neera.

"Here, it'll take care o' most of the bite," she grabbed at the bottle weakly; Jim was ordered to help her choke some of it down. She spluttered and coughed at the bitter taste burning her mouth but she managed to down two large gulps. The warmth and slight numbness seeped through her, blurring her vision slightly. She had begun to relax when Silver started picking out debris from her skin. She screamed and would have bitten her tongue if the Doc wasn't there to slip a piece wood in her mouth. Jim was ushered out of the door and sent to check up on the brother. He had disappeared while they were carrying Neera to Doc's room. Walking down the hall he could hear Neera's tortured screams all the way to her and Mike's room. He found the boy cocooned in a mass of blankets huddled in a corner. Slipping down next to him, they sat there for who knows how long, jumping every time a scream tore through the ship.

Silver wiped his face dry with his handkerchief, before taking another swig of the brandy. It was nearly empty. After a while of unbearable pain, Neera had grabbed the bottle and drank deeply and sweet numbing relief flooded her system, temporarily blocking the pain. When it wore off, she would take another swig. He had dug out the cause of the dark purple mounds, a small handful of sharp little meteorite shards that must have embedded themselves in Neera's back when she fell on the deck. She winced again and grabbed at the bottle. Her vision was swimming and fuzzy so she missed, knocking the bottle to the floor. Amelia wiped Neera's sweaty brow as Doppler picked up the bottle and went to fetch another bottle, just in case.

When Silver finished fishing out bits of space rock, the bandages that had been soaking in the ice-water, were carefully draped over the burns. Neera moaned at the feeling. This was better than the brandy! Her skin felt as if it were on fire so the icy bandages were welcome relief.

Mike had fallen asleep in Jim's lap when Doppler came in, blood smeared all over his hands and shirt. He had been helping Silver with picking out the bits of space rock. Jim looked him over terrified of the grave news he would undoubtedly share. But Doppler smiled kindly and nodded his head in the direction of the newly dubbed 'medical room.' Jim let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding before easing out from under Mike and moving him to his bed. The boy did not stir and continued sleeping without a care in the world. Closing the door behind him, Jim followed Doc to where Neera was.

The heat in the room almost took Jims' breath away. It had bombarded him the second Doc had opened the door. Silver sat slumped in a chair in the corner, taking a swig of a honey-colored liquid; Captain Amelia was pacing a hole in the carpet, wringing her bloodied gloves in her hands, stopping to look at them when they came in only to resume pacing again. Jim looked over the table where Neera lay.

She was covered in a layer of sweat, hair plastered to her face and neck and bloody bandages covered most of her back. Her green tank top lay in tatters in a corner and the hem of her pants were discolored with drying blood. Silver noticed his expression.

"She'll be alright lad," Silver stood up and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. Jim didn't take his eyes off the girl passed out on the table.

"She was mostly covered in burns but we had to go an' dig these things out," Silver pointed to the pile of space rocks that had been embedded in Neera's back, "She's some piece o' work, that's fer sure. Must've covered the little laddie with her own body and everythin' to protect 'im from the heat! When we set to work on her, she nearly drank the whole bottle!" Silver gestured to the empty brandy bottle on the floor with a grim chuckle, "Never seen a lady knock back such a strong brandy like that before!" The corner of Jim's mouth turned upwards slightly. Silver shook out his arms and left the boiling room. Jim sat on the chair Silver had left and held his head in his hands. Silence ensued. He sat there and watched as Doc and Amelia took turns changing Neera's bandages, replacing them with fresh, ice-watered ones, sometimes taking the time to smear some ointment over the worst of her burns. Every now and then he would catch a glimpse of her eyes opening, unfocused and delirious, gazing around the room before closing them again.

Morning came when Neera woke up to Mike talking animatedly to Jim about how Neera had saved him. She smiled to herself before she eased herself up into a sitting position. She gasped when a wrong move pulled at the healing skin on her back. Jim heard her and looked up. Their eyes met and she saw the deep circles under his eyes, how exhausted he looked.

"How long was I out?" Jim helped her sit up straight and handed her a glass of water. She gratefully drank the water in three gulps.

"Not long. You passed yesterday," Jim's eyes wandered to her throat where a stray drop of water rolled over her collarbone and disappear beneath her baggy shirt. After her last bandage change, Amelia had slipped a large baggy shirt over her body to give her a little modesty despite her situation. Neera finished the water and set the glass down next to her. Mike crawled up beside her and started chattering about everything and nothing in particular. Jim watched as Mike proudly presented his bandaged arm to her, bragging about how they both matched. Neera smiled painfully.

"The Captain said she wanted to meet with you once you woke up," Jim told Neera and she nodded. Mike held her hand as Jim helped her walk to the Captain's office where Amelia sat regally behind her desk, discussing something with Doppler.

"Ah! Neera! Just the person I wanted to see. Thank you Mr. Hawkins," Jim left Neera and Mike to stand off to the side behind Amelia. Doppler looked nervous. Amelia got straight to the point.

"It has come to my attention that you two are a rather strange duo," Neera raised her eyebrow. Amelia continued, "As witnessed by Mr. Hawkins, Dr. Doppler and myself, you seem to know what happens, before it happens." A pregnant pause hung in the air. Neera could feel her palms starting to sweat and her burns twitch painfully. _They couldn't know! Could they?_

"I don't understand what you mean," Neera played dumb. She would figure out what they knew and see where it would go from there. Amelia eyed her warily.

"For example," Amelia stood up and began pacing, "the first day, when Mr. Hawkins was introduced to you and Mr. Silver, your brother asked a peculiar question did you not, Mr. Mike?" Mike looked up from the floor.

"I don't know…" he trailed off quietly. Neera squeezed his hand in comfort. Amelia turned to Jim.

"He asked me if I had the ball to Treasure Planet," Jim stated without making eye contact with Neera who was openly glaring at him. Amelia turned back to Neera who lifted the eyes of death from Jim.

"Hm. Yes a _ball_, to Treasure Planet. A _ball_ that no one on this ship knew about," Amelia stressed the word but continued, "That same day, your brother was conversing with Dr. Doppler and made an off hand comment on how he was going to fall, which happened not long after," Neera could have sworn Doppler's cheeks reddened slightly. Amelia continued relentlessly, "Then the time Mr. Scroop and Mr. Hawkins got into a brawl, you were fixing him up when you said something about how Silver was going to save him _anyway_. And _then_, the whole black hole situation. I want to know what is going on, on my ship and I want the information now! Is that clear?" Jim, Doppler and Amelia gazed at the siblings standing uncomfortably in the middle of the office. Neera could feel the sweat dripping down her back and under her bandages. The salt stung but she paid no mind to it. How was she supposed to get the two of them out of this mess? She couldn't tell the truth, that would imply insanity and they would take Mike away from her. She racked her brain. They only knew that they said things would happen before it happened. Sorta like fortune telling. Fortune telling was a form of telling the future. She got it!

"Do you really want to know?" Neera asked nervously, the pit in her stomach tightening hoping to any god out there that this would work. They all nodded. Neera took a deep breath.

"I can see the future."

Silence. Uncomfortable, deafening, horrifyingly awful silence. Neera dared not look up from the carpet, clutching Mike's hand in hers tightly. He didn't say a word and stared into the carpet. The tightening feeling in her stomach didn't go away like she thought it would. In fact, it got worse. Her stomach plummeted and she was tempted to wipe her hands in her trousers but that would mean letting go of Mike, her only anchor.

Taking a chance, Neera looked up. Jim, Amelia and Doppler all stared at her, flabbergasted. Amelia actually tried cleaning her ears.

"Come again?"

"I can see the future," Neera repeated. _'Ok, time to play this up a bit,'_ Neera held her head up high and squeezed Mike's hand, signaling him to please keep his mouth shut, "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. I didn't want anyone to know about it 'cause they might try to take advantage of it. Or look at me like your doing now." Amelia shook her head in disbelief.

"There's no such thing as fortune telling. It's nonsense! Nonsense spouted by those who tend to swindle people," Amelia scoffed at the idea of fortune telling. In all honesty, Neera would have too, but since pretty much her and Mike's survival counted on this to work, she went with it.

"Do you need proof? 'Cause I can give you proof," Neera proposed. Jim and Doppler nodded; Amelia stood by.

"Umm…ok. Look I know this was in the past, back on the first day? But I can guarantee this room is spyproof, so I believe its good evidence for starters." Amelia looked on skeptically.

"So is this where you break out the candles and incense and begin useless chanting in unknown tongues or speak in riddles?" Amelia smiled. Neera cringed.

"No thankfully. Unless you like riddles. I just…see…things. Dr. Doppler!" he jumped slightly at his name and Neera stared at him, "With the greatest possible respect, zip your howling screamer."

Doppler gaped, Jim's jaw dropped and Amelia's eyes widened.

"That doesn't prove anything! That's in the past! Someone must have heard!" Amelia began pacing. Neera racked her brain for something in the near future that wouldn't jeopardize the whole movie plot. She didn't know what would happen if she revealed the climax of the movie to these people.

She couldn't say Silver was planning a mutiny. That was a major part of the storyline! They had to be captured!

She couldn't say anything about Treasure Planet being a giant bomb. That was pretty much _the_ highlight of the whole movie. No she couldn't reveal that.

_'Near future! Near future! C'mon _think_! Aha!'_

"Have you talked to the crew about the black hole yet? Have you seen Mr. Arrow?" That made Amelia's ears perk up.

"No and no, I have not. But speaking of which I must congratulate them on a job well done," Amelia made a move for the door but Neera ran in front of her, eyes wide.

"When you ask for Mr. Arrow, that spider-psycho Mr. Scroop will come forward and give you Arrow's hat! That's all I can say," Neera could feel Jim and Doppler's eyes on her but she continued watching Amelia. She sighed

"Very well then. Come along and we'll see if it's true what you say," Amelia opened the door and motioned Neera and Mike out in front, Jim and Doppler not far behind, before she closed and locked her office door. Coming on deck she addressed the crew.

"Congratulation boys! Yesterday, you overcame a supernova and bested a black hole!" the crew cheered, whooped and hollered with joy; Amelia turned to Silver, "I must say Mr. Silver, that's one fine cabin boy you've got there. All hands accounted for Mr. Arrow?" the crew looked around for the hunkering mass of rock with the booming voice, but he was nowhere to be found, "Mr. Arrow?" Doppler and Jim held their breath as Mr. Scroop came forward through the crowd.

"I'm afraid Mr. Arrow was lost," Scroop handed Captain Amelia Mr. Arrow's hat; "His lifeline was not secured."


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay! Originally, this was a really short chapter but I managed to come up with more than a measly few hundred words. I am in fact, very proud of myself at this moment. Anyway! Another chapter following Neera, her adorable little bro, Mike and the character we all know and love, JIM!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form.**

* * *

~o0O0o~

Jim leaned against the railing fiddling with a length of rope; the nighttime stars his only companions. Memories of the accusing looks from Amelia; the awful truth that he had practically killed Mr. Arrow with his own hands, and the fact that Neera had pretty much proved her ability to see the future, floated through his brain. He gave a frustrated grunt and threw the piece of rope on the deck, near someone's feet. A certain someone actually.

Neera picked up the rope and wrapped it around her hand, before flopping down, careful of her back, next to him. He brought his knees up and buried his face in his arms, ignoring her.

"Go away," Jim murmured into his arms. Neera let a breath escape her.

"Rough day huh?" she fiddled with the rope. He didn't say anything and kept ignoring her. They sat like that in silence before Neera grew uncomfortable.

"Look it wasn't your fault," she burst out but Jim jumped up and walked away, "Hey!" she followed, grabbing his arm, ignoring the pain that shot through her back.

"It's not! It really isn't!" she cried when he tried pulling away from her, "Look at me dammit!"

He looked at her and she cringed. There was so much anger and hate in his eyes, it almost burned her.

"How is it NOT my fault huh? Arrow is dead and gone because I couldn't even secure a stupid lifeline! ARGH!" Jim seethed, turning away from Neera and running his hands through his hair roughly. He turned back on her so fast she thought his neck would break.

"How is it not my fault Neera? Huh? And if it's not my fault, then WHO'S IS IT?" Neera backed up, almost in tears. She'd never seen Jim like this before. He was breathing heavily from yelling and bearing over her like a wolf over a lamb.

"I-I can't tell you…" Neera's eyes fell to the ground. She really wished she could help him but she didn't know how much the storyline would change if she told him. She was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if they didn't follow the story line. Would they die? Would they go home? Would some strange space-time paradox cause the universe to collapse in on itself? What would happen to them? She was brought back to the present when hands seized her shoulders and jerked painfully.

"You know who it is don't you?! Who killed Arrow? I know you know! Why won't you tell me!?" Jim was yelling in her face now. Neera couldn't help it. The tears slid down her face before she could stop them. Jim hesitated. She pushed Jim away from her, giving her some space before yelling at him.

"You don't think I wanna tell you!?" the tears were relentless, streaming down her face now, "Huh!? You don't think I wanna give you the answers?! Well I'm sorry to say, Mr. Jim Hawkins!" Neera sneered and took a step forward causing Jim to take a step back, "This is a test and I'm _not_ allowed to give out the answers!"

Jim looked her over. Her hair hung loose flowing in the wind, loose baggy shirt hanging off her shoulders revealing some of her bandages and tears running down her face. Her eyes reflected the lights from the stars. She looked like she was in agony. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna see the future. I don't wanna know what's gonna happen, but I do." And she began sobbing quietly.

Jim didn't know what else to do so he pulled her to him and threw his arms around her, arms brushing her back. She winced at the contact and buried her face in his shirt and cried. They stood like that for a while as Neera's sobs quieted and the hiccups began. She pulled away and gave a watery laugh.

"Sorry, I got your shirt all wet," she sniffed. Jim laughed and looked around. The deck was strangely empty.

"Hey where the little guy?" Neera looked around wiping her eyes.

"Oh I sent him to bed before I came up here. He's probably fast asleep by-umpf!"

Jim's mouth was on hers. It took a few seconds for her to realize what was happening as Jim wrapped his arms around her waist bringing her closer to him. His tongue slid across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Head gone completely blank, she acted without thought, closed her eyes and let him in. His tongue slid over every surface and his hand came up to cradle her head. His lips were warm and formed to hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Releasing her mouth for much needed air, Jim moved down, peppering kisses all along her neck and collarbone, causing her to moan. Jim smiled into her neck before leaving a trail of searing kisses up along her neck to nibble on her ear. Neera moaned again and held onto Jim who chuckled and kissed her again. They broke the kiss, breathing hard.

"W-wow! Oh wow!" Neera breathed, burying her face in Jim's shirt. He smiled. He realized then just how much shorter Neera was compared to him. She only came up to his chin. Closing his eyes he breathed her in. She smelled like morning dew and oranges. He sighed happily into her hair. Neera pushed away gently for air and giggled.

"So Jimbo? Is this how you comfort girls?" she teased wiping her face with her sleeve. He smiled warmly.

"Well if she has a little loudmouthed brother, can see the future and goes by the name of Neera, then yes. This is how I comfort girls," he joked kissing her forehead. "So how are your burns?" she moved her shoulder and winced.

"Still pretty bad. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to have super human healing. It's next on my list though! Right next to getting a time machine!" she and Jim laughed lightly, "Well I'd better head to bed now. You know it being all dark and…I'm just gonna go. See you tomorrow?"

Jim hesitated.

"Hey about the kiss? What does it mean? I-I mean to you- to us!" he corrected, his cheeks turning a violent shade of crimson. Neera smiled and took his hand gently.

"I like you Jim, I really do. You're a cool guy and I like hanging around with you even though you are a hot-head sometimes," he grinned innocently, "But!" he visibly cringed at the word.

"There's someone else though isn't there?" he asked, shoulders drooping. To his pleasure, she shook her head.

"No there isn't someone like that. It's Mike," he looked at her questionably, "He has my first priority at all times. We're all we've got. I'd love to…" Neera struggled for the right words since she didn't know how long she and Mike would be stuck in this world, "_Have_ something with you. But he will always be first. Do you understand?" Jim thought for a second before nodding, Neera let out a breath smiling. "Alright then, I'm gonna head to bed now. You gonna stay out here for a bit?"

"Yeah," Neera kissed his cheek lightly before heading to her room where Mike would probably be taking up the whole bed. Jim sighed and looked out to the Etherium. It was calm and the stars shone brightly as if happy for him. He grinned to himself.

Neera was his girlfriend.

Neera was his.

Neera.

* * *

~o0O0o~

A few days later, the crew gathered in the mess hall, laughing loudly and hollering at each other. They silenced when Silver made his way down the stairs, his mechanical leg whizzing with the movement.

"So, how are you all enjoying your trip?" he smiled sickly sweet before banging a table sending a few crewmen flying back in their seats. They yelped and cowered.

"Are y'all stark bloomin' MAD?! You wanna blow the mutiny before it's time?" Silver hissed and pointed to Mr. Scroop, "And you, you lily-livered sack o' shit! Starting fights with the cabin boy on yer first bloomin' _day_? And that stunt with Mr. Arrow?!"

Mr. Scroop scowled.

"The boy wass ssniffing about," he hissed before Silver grabbed his shirt.

"Don't you worry 'bout little cabin kids. I'll take care o' them." The crew nodded in confirmation. Mr. Scroop smiled.

"Lasst night I wass up top amongst the rigging and heard the mosst interesting thing," he snickered, glaring at Silver who waited for him to continue, "It seems we have a Seer on board." The crew who had fallen silent, started throwing out suggestions, most of them including killing the Seer before they found out about the mutiny. Silver was shocked to say the least. Seers were about as rare as finding a pirate that stole from the rich only to give to the poor.

"Who's this Seer then? Do they know about the mutiny?"

Mr. Scroop's sneer should have been his first warning.

"It'ss that cabin girl, Neera."

Silver froze. Neera was the Seer? Suddenly he saw himself in the kitchen again, hearing Neera tell her brother about Morph's appearance. And then when Neera's brother had mentioned a ball that led to Treasure Planet. And again with the whole black hole situation. He'd heard from Doppler over the howling winds that the star had gone supernova. No signs of a black hole appeared till _after_ the vortex had revealed itself.

"Well that explains a lot," he breathed. Mr. Scroop eyed him curiously, silently pressing him to continue, "Well, when they first came down to meh, Neera had mentioned Morph's appearance before he came out and she must have told her little brother 'bout the map to Treasure Planet 'cause he mentioned 'a ball to Treasure Planet.' He must have been talking 'bout the map! And she talked 'bout a black hole before it came to be! Even the good doctor didn't know what was happening!" the crowd hung silently waiting for what their leader would do. Silver turned to Mr. Scroop.

"What else did yeh find out 'bout the Seer?"

"Sshe ssaid she knowss who killed Mr. Arrow and mentioned knowing what would happen but iss not allowed to ssay or ssomething. But meh thinkss sshe knowss," Mr. Scroop finished, grinning evilly.

Silver thought hard. On the one hand, a Seer! A real honest-to-god Seer! She could easily tell them where Treasure Planet was and without the help of the map. And many other treasures if he so desired it. But on the other hand, he'd grown a liking to the girl and her little brother. If he gave the crew to go-ahead to use her, they'd threaten Mike to make her go along with whatever plans they could come up with. He saw the crew lean in on him, awaiting his decision. No! He couldn't let them think he'd gone soft.

"We'll move out just as planned, find out if she knows about the mutiny. But, when we do make our move, we'll be takin' that little brother o' hers hostage and she'll lead us to the treasure and the treasures beyond that!" the crew cheered. Happy with the outcome, Silver dismissed them all.

Moving onto the deck, he saw the cabin kids working at the railings, Mike humming something way off key but he didn't seem to care. Silver felt a stone drop in his heart. He was gonna betray that little happy ball of fire and use him to control his sister who had only just started healing from her fiery escapade with the black hole. Neera seemed awfully quiet this morning, and he didn't miss the accusing glances she cast at him. She knew. She knew what he was up to.

Jim saw Neera giving Silver the stink eye. It was really rather cute, with her red hair in a messy pony tail, white tank top with a nice loose brown shirt over it and a pair of his brown pants she had borrowed from him when hers had been ruined. They had been large on him and were huge on her. If she didn't have a belt, they would not have stayed up. But he could feel her body tense as Silver came up on deck. He knew something was going down and spoke up.

"Hey Neera what's up?" she glanced at Silver once more before she turned to him a smile on her face.

"It's nothing. Just got something on my mind," she shrugged, glanced at Silver again and continued her work.

_'But we'll know if something bad's gonna happen and we'll run away from it ok?'_

_'Ok. Like when Silver takes over the ship?'_

Jim heard Mike's words echo in his ears.

_'Like when Silver takes over the ship?'_

He watched as Neera shot a wary glance at Silver again. Then it clicked. Silver was planning a mutiny and Neera knew!

"Neera? You look really nervous. You're not getting sick are you?" her eyes met his and he sought the answers that lay hidden. She shook her head and laughed. It didn't have her usual ring, it was hollower. More nervous. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Is it about Silver?" her head shot up with so much force she clipped his head in the action. She ignored her pain, eyes wide in fear and hissed, louder than she would have liked.

"No! Even if there was I'm not allowed to say!"

Jim was taken aback at her forcefulness. Nearby, Silver was as well. His mechanical ear had heard every word and his eye had caught every single nervous movement Neera made. She knew. But for some reason, she wouldn't tell Jimbo. She _couldn't_ tell him. Silver had always heard that Seers liked telling everyone everything, withholding nothing to show off their powers. But the chances that they were fakes were high and Neera, as the real deal, had to follow some rules that the universe had laid out.

High above him in the Crow's Nest, he heard the unmistakable call of 'Planet Ho!' everyone, including Neera, rushed to the railing to peer at the planet known to house the loot of a thousand worlds. He felt it before he saw Neera's glare on him. She whispered something hurriedly to Jim, who paled and nodded. Before Silver could stop her or grab her brother, she seized Mike and took off for the Captain's Quarters, Jim on her heels.

_'Mutiny, Captain's office, now!'_ the only words Neera uttered before she took off holding her brother. As they reached the Captain's door, they heard Silver yell.

"Change o' plans lads! We. Move. Now!"

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Amelia shut and locked the door behind then and went about her office muttering about pirates. She threw a pistol-like weapon at Doppler.

"Doctor, familiar with one of these?" He mumbled a few things before he blasted part of the wall next to Amelia.

"Um, no, no I am not," he stated simply. Jim and Neera got a gun but Neera strapped an extra one to her calf under the baggy pants she'd borrowed from Jim. When Amelia passed the map to Jim, Morph interfered and Jim had to wrench the map out of the morph's mouth. The pirates were working on getting through the door when Amelia shot a hole in the floor and motioned everyone through. Jim had only just jumped through when a huge blast blew the door apart. Neera could hear Silver's frustrated howl through the hallways.

"He's gonna send some men through here and try to head us off at the long boats!" Neera panted, following Amelia at the head of the group and carrying Mike. The Captain was about to ask her something but the Seer had other ideas.

"Escape first, explanations later." Amelia gave a curt nod and the group made their way to the long boats hanger. Mike screamed and pointed to a place behind Neera, causing everyone to look. The pirates were gaining on them! Amelia shoved everyone through a door and used her gun to efficiently seal it off.

As soon as they made it to the long boats, Jim hopped in and took Mike from Neera. The Seer boosted Doppler up in the boat as Amelia pulled the lever to open the hatch, revealing the great greenish expanse of the planet below them. Mike clutched his sister around the middle, oblivious of the grimace of pain that crossed her features. His small hands were digging into her still-healing burns.

"Jim!" she screamed just as he felt Morph dig into his pocket and grab the map.

"Morph! No!"

Morph gurgled happily before flying to the catwalk. Jim followed and just as he landed, the door to the hanger blew open with an explosion. The pirates filed in and stared shooting madly at the long boat they currently occupied. Neera forced Mike down as far as he could go before peeking over the edge of the boat and taking aim at a few of the pirates.

"Chew on this you puss-filled boils!" Amelia hollered, firing at the approaching pirates. Doppler fumbled with his weapon before standing and firing at some metal disk thing, causing it to come crashing down on the catwalk the pirates were standing on and sending them the long way down to the planets surface. Amelia watched their decent before turning to Doppler.

"Did you actually aim for that?" she asked skeptically. Doppler stared at his weapon.

"You know, actually I did?" he was cut short as Amelia pushed him down and out of harms way as a barrage of laser shots were fired right were his head had been two seconds ago. Mike giggled and Neera was tempted to join his but a metallic hissing sound caused her stomach to drop. Silver had pulled the lever back up, closing the hatch. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Amelia growled deep in her throat.

"Ah blast it!" she turned to Doppler and revealed her plan but Neera was busy watching Jim. He was yelling at Morph and Silver had noticed them!

"Morph! Here, Morph!" the little pink blob ducked and dodged Jim's wildly waving arms grabbing for the map still in its mouth.

"Morph!" the blob turned to Silver who stepped on the same catwalk Jim was on, "Morphie, come here!" he began whistling encouragingly, like one would to a dog. Jim and Silver began a war of baby talk to persuade Morph to come to them. Neera took the chance and aimed her pistol for Silver's leg. She remembered that Jim was supposed to have injured the cyborg down in the galley after the pirates plan had been revealed to him. But he had been up top with her, efficiently straying from the main story line. And she was going to make things a little even.

Her finger kissed the trigger and the soft part of Silver's leg blew open causing him to fall. Jim didn't bother looking to see who'd done it. His eyes were glued to Morph, who jumped into a coil of rope lying nearby. Silver dragged himself forward towards the coil but Jim was faster. Grabbing the map and hurrying to the long boat where the other waited for him. Neera could see Silver taking aim at Jim but knew he wouldn't pull the trigger. _Couldn't_ more like it.

"Now!" Amelia gave the order and she and Doppler blew out the cables holding the long boat in place, sending them with a jolt into the still closing hatch. Mike screamed as Jim crashed into the railing of the boat beside them as it tipped into the open space. Jim was still hanging off the edge of the falling boat and before she could stop him, her brother darted forward and began trying to pull him into the boat. She scurried to him and yanked Jim inside as Amelia released the solar sails.

An unsettling feeling pricked the back Neera's head as the hair on her neck rose.

"Laserball! Captain, dodge!" Neera screamed over the howling wind but it was a few seconds too late. The flaming sphere hit the engine exploding in an array of colors. Amelia cried out clutching her side as the long boat began its drastic decent into the world below. Mike screamed into Neera's shirt as everyone onboard felt their stomachs drop at the sudden drop in elevation.

When they reached tree level, Amelia grabbed the rudder and despite her pain, steered the worthless long boat in for a landing. The passengers grasped the sides of the boat. Mike clutched Neera and had hidden himself under her over shirt. They crashed against several trees and went clear through another before spinning out on the ground. The unfortunate boat caught on the rough terrain and flipped over, skidding to a stop.

Silence gripped the small clearing. Jim opened his eyes slowly and shook his head, clearing it. He lifted the boat off his companions who began stirring.

Neera stood leaning heavily against the boat, pupils dilated; the black almost consuming her chocolate brown. Mike was pulling at the mossy ground and showing it to her, grinning.

"Oh my goodness," Delbert breathed getting to his feet, "That was more fun than I ever want to have again!"

Amelia chuckled.

"It's not one of my gossamer landings," she straightened only to collapse in pain, clutching her side. Delbert and Jim both rushed to her aid.

"Oh don't fuss! Slight bruising, that's all. Cup of tea and I'll be right as rain," she fixed her hair to prove she was alright, "Mr. Hawkins?" she faced Delbert and squinted at him before turning to Jim, "The map, if you please."

Jim reached into his pocket and retrieved the sphere. He breathed a sigh of relief that it was still there but then it floated up and transformed into a laughing Morph.

"Morph? Morph! Where's the map?!" a sound came from behind him as Neera tried to straighten. She wobbled before she leaned against the boat for support. Mike stepped back in case she fell down.

"Nee-Nee?"

"Map…its back…where you left it. In that rope…thing," Neera struggled to form the words, her head still hazy and swimming. She didn't _think_ those trees were smiling at her but she couldn't be too sure. At her words, the little shape-shifter turned into the coil of rope and the map. The real map was still in the rope coil on the ship.

"Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?!" Jim shouted at Neera while Morph made some sort of giggling burp. Mike shrunk back while Neera stepped forward wobbling dangerously.

"Yeah… it is. When you go get it-" her eyes rolled back in her head and she promptly collapsed. Jim stared as Morph hovered towards her and chirped sadly.

"Stifle that blob and get low," Amelia warned as Jim grabbed Morph and Delbert grabbed the unconscious Neera, "We've got company."

The group watched as another longboat headed towards a large column of black smoke.

"We need a more defensible position. Mr. Hawkins, scout ahead." Jim nodded firmly taking the gun the Captain offered.

"Wait! I'm coming with you," Neera stood, now more stable than before. Mike had managed to wake her in time to hear the order. Jim felt his cheeks burn slightly. He'd yelled at her after she had clearly hit her head. Hard, judging by the way her eyes were unfocused.

"No, Neera stay here with Mike and the rest, You'll be safe-"

"Excuse me but I'm going whether you like it or not," she huffed and placed her fists on her hips. Jim gulped. His mom made that pose sometimes and he knew he wouldn't ever be able to change the woman's mind. He sighed and she grinned knowing she'd won.

"Alright Mike c'mon! We're going exploring!" she whispered excitedly to the little boy who beamed and took out his pocketknife. Jim stood stunned.

"Um, he's not going," he crossed his arms and looked down at the short red-head. She gave him a look and straightened to her full height, still only coming up to his chin.

"He's. Going," she stated flatly, "Besides he'll be safer with me, trust me," she took the boy's hand and began walking. Jim huffed and followed her, leaving Delbert to take care of Amelia's wounds.

The three had walked for a while, leaving all signs of the crash sight behind them. Mike had grown tired a while back and was currently getting a piggyback ride from Jim. Morph was floating back and forth transforming into things for the boy's entertainment. Neera couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her 4-year old brother pulling on Jim's rat-tail calling him 'Horsy!' She stopped at the foot of a field of ankle-deep lichens shaped like tubes. Jim noticed her hesitation.

"What is it?" he slid Mike off his back and loaded his laser pistol. She didn't take her eyes off the field. It was Mike who responded.

"This is where we me-" Neera clapped a hand over the boy's mouth and smiled.

"This is where we meet a friend. You won't need your gun for this. Just a, uh….a lot of patience," she picked up Mike and settled the boy on her hip and took the first step into the lichen field.

_'This girl is just strange,'_ Jim thought, _'But then again she's a Seer. There's no way she could be normal.'_

The group was silent as they ventured forth. All of a sudden, there was a rustling sound behind them and Jim whirled around to face the danger. Neera rolled her eyes as he loaded the pistol and Mike tried to stifle a giggle. Jim leaned over a rather large tube lichen only to be flung back. He landed hard on his back with something on top of him.

"AHH! Oh this is fantastic! A carbon-based life form, come to rescue me AT LAST! I JUST WANNA hug ya an' squeeze ya and hold ya close to me!" the robot clung to Jim as Neera and Mike giggled at the scene. It really was quite funny to watch Jim try to get the poor robot off when it only came back to wrap itself around his legs.

"Alright, ok," Jim pried the rusty robot off of him for like the 5th time already, "Ugh would you just let go of me?" That seemed to knock some sense into the robot.

"Oh sorry, sorry," it threw a casual arm over Jim's shoulders, "I-it's just…I-I-I've been…marooned… for, uh, so long. I mean solitude's fine, don't get me wrong, for heavens sake a 100 years….YA GO A LITTLE NUTS!" it laughed nervously. It looked at Jim who eyed the metallic arm draped over his shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry…I uh…" the robot pulled his arm away from Jim's shoulders and held it out for him to shake, "I am…uummm…My name…is..uh…" it grabbed its head as if trying to remember. Jim watched Morph change into the robot with coo-koo clock noises. He glanced over at Neera and Mike who were trying no to burst with laughter.

"BEN! Of course! I'm BEN! Bio Electronic Navigator! And you are?" he motioned to Jim who was bending to retrieve the gun he'd dropped when BEN jumped him.

"I'm Jim and these are my friends, Neera and Mike," he motioned to the siblings sitting on a tree stump. BEN blinked at them for a few seconds before exploding.

"OH MY GOD! A FAMILY! Are you planning on settling down here? If so, I know some great places! And you little fella," he leaned over Mike and pinched his cheek, "You can call me UNCLE BEN! Oh Jimmy you are so lucky!" the robot embraced him again and Neera watched as an impressively red blush stained Jim's features all the way down to his neck.

"It's '_Jim'_, and these two are my _friends_ and that's her _brother_," he stressed the words to make BEN understand. And surprisingly, he did.

"Oh, oops?" he laughed nervously, "Anyway!" he leaned on Jim who scowled.

"Look we're kinda in a hurry ok? We gotta find a place to hide and there's pirates-"

BEN straightened.

"PIRATES? Don't get me started on PIRATES! I don't like them!" Jim ignored the rambling robot and grabbed Neera's arm, forcing her to walk with him, Mike scurrying after.

"I remember Captain Flint," the robot continued, freezing Jim in place, "This guy, had such a temper!"

"Wa-wait, _you_ knew Captain Flint?" Jim walked up to the robot shocked to say the least. This crazy, rusty robot knew _Flint_?

"I think he suffered from mood swings personally, I'm not a therapist. And anyway but I- YOU LET ME KNOW WHEN I'M RAMBLING!" BEN seemed happy that there was someone to talk to.

"Whoa but that means…But then you gotta know, about the treasure?" he asked, the excitement growing in his voice.

"Treasure?" BEN repeated nervously.

"Yeah, Flint's trove? You know, the loot of a thousand worlds?" Morph changed to a treasure chest spewing gold.

"It's, well, i-it's, i-i-i-it's alll-l-l-l-l," BEN stuttered and his voice sounded more mechanical than usual before everything turned back to normal, "Fuzzy. Wait! I r-r-remember! I-I do-TREASURE! Lots of treasure! Buried in the centroid-centroid-CENTROID OF THE MECHANISM! And there was this big door, opening and closing and opening and closing….And Captain Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever get to his treasure so…I helped him-aaaAAARGH! INACSECIBLE!" BEN's eyes turned red and green and black and his voice rose and fell dramatically screaming things Jim and Neera couldn't understand.

"REBOOT! REBOOT! REBOOT!" the robot screamed, head causing a shower of sparks behind him.

"BEN? BEN!" Jim slapped the robot whose head sparked once before he came back to himself. BEN looked at Jim confusedly.

"And you are?"

Neera stared and Mike giggled. This robot was much funnier in real life!

"Wait wait wait! What about the treasure?!" Jim said anxiously.

"I wanna say, Larry."

"The centroid of the mechanism, or um,"

"I-I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. I-I've lost my mind!" the robot laughed like something unbelievable just happened, "I've LOST MY MIND! You haven't found it have you?" Jim couldn't formulate any words as the robot spun him around and patted him down.

"My missing piece? My Primary Memory Circuit?" BEN pointed to the exposed wires at the back of his head. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Look BEN! I _really_ need to find a place to hide, so I'm just gonna be uh…you know, moving on," Jim picked up Mike and motioned Neera to follow. BEN looked on looking like he was about to cry. Could robots even cry?

"Oh, uh…so well um…I guess uh…this is goodbye huh? I'm sorry that I'm so," he collapsed his legs, using his knees as wheels to drive with, "Dysfunctional. So uh, go ahead. I do understand, I do. It's just…byebye," and BEN slowly, ever so slowly began rolling away. Jim looked at Neera, one eyebrow raised questionably. She smiled and nodded. He sighed heavily.

"Look, if you're gonna come along, you're gonna have to stop talking." BEN hadn't even gone 4 inches from his spot when he shot up cheering.

"Huzzah!" WAHAHAHAHA! Aw this is FANTASTIC! ME AND MY BEST BUDDY out looking for a…." BEN had jumped into Jim's arms screaming and laughing but trailed off when he noticed the glare Jim was giving him. He chuckled nervously and whispered, "Being quiet."

"And you have to stop touching me," Jim declared dropping BEN to the ground.

"Right! Touching and talking! The two big no-noes!" BEN picked himself up happily.

"Kay, now I think that we should head-" Jim stared walking towards another clearing when a small tug at his collar stopped him. Neera was holding Mike in one arm and Jim in the other. Jim hated the smug smirk on her face.

"Say, listen! Before we go out on our big search," BEN made air quotes, "Um, would you mind if we made a quick pit-stop at my place? Kind of urgent," he pulled away some really tall tube lichens, revealing a large open field with a large building like mound in the middle. Jim looked from Neera to the building and back to Neera again who smiled and jerked her head in the direction of BEN's home and released his collar.

"BEN, I think you just solved out problem!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Holy cow, I'm alive! It has been way too long since I've updated and for that I'd like to apologize. But excuses are just that; excuses. So I'm gonna skip through all that good stuff and get right to the juicy center of the whole thing! Another chapter! More danger and fluffy stuff and a sad attempt at humor. Not my best trait but I think I've done good so far. BEN has always been my favorite character, (next to Jim of course) so writing him in is always something I look forward to. Any-who...on to the disclaimer-part-thingy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I wish I did though but then I'd be rich and wouldn't feel the need to write fan fictions about it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

Hours later, Jim and Neera had brought Delbert and Amelia to BEN's home. Mike had been there the entire afternoon waiting for his sister to come back. BEN had even found him a couple sticks he could whittle with his pocketknife to pass the time with. When Delbert and Amelia had first come in, BEN had offered the 'happy couple' a couple of questionable looking grease drinks. Jim had noticed Neera smiling when the doctor and the Captain denied being a couple. So he asked her about it.

"What with the smile?" he continued looking around the room, anywhere but her.

"I think it's alright if I tell you," she gestured him over and whispered in his ear. Her breath ghosted over his ear sending delightful shivers up and down his spine he almost forgot to listen in, "They're eventually gonna get married and have kids. But don't tell them. I don't know how they'll react." Jim was astonished. But the Captain and Delbert hated each other. Neera seemed to read his mind.

"C'mon even I-you don't need to be a Seer to see that they like each other," she shoved her shoulder gently into his and went to see about food for her brother who was tinkering with something BEN had given him.

"Look at these markings," Delbert gestured to the walls and ceiling of BEN's home, "their identical to the ones on the map. I suspect these are the hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture." Morph made some noise as to agree with the doctor.

"Mr. Hawkins!" It was Amelia who spoke up this time, "Stop anyone who tries to approach! Argh!" she flinched, grabbing her side. Delbert looked down on her before ordering her to stop giving orders for a few milliseconds.

"Hey look! There's some more of your buddies!" BEN hopped up and down in the entrance waving his arms about, "HEY FELLAS! WE'RE OVER HERE FELLAS!" Jim managed to pull BEN down before he got hit by any of the laser blasts the pirates had sent his way. He and Neera took turns firing over the side, sending back some return fire no matter how bad the aim was. Neera could hear Silver yelling at his men to stop firing.

"Hello up there!" came the cyborgs voice. Neera peeked over the edge and motioned Jim to join her. "Jimbo? Neera? If uh, it's alright with the captain, I'd like a short word withcha," Silver called waving a sad excuse of a white flag, "No tricks," Jim zoned out after that and looked to Neera who glanced at Amelia.

"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless. Pestilential, ugh," she grimaced as a fresh wave of pain pulsed from her injury. Delbert scowled.

"Captain," he ordered, gently forcing her to lie back down. A wave of relief swept over Jim at a sudden realization.

"That means, that he thinks' we still have it," he grinned at Neera who returned it.

"Alrighty Mike? Stay here and be a good boy alright?" even though it was posed as a question, Neera left no room for argument. Mike nodded happily and Neera and Jim left the safety of BEN's home to meet Silver.

"Morphie! I wondered where yeh went off to," the pink blob giggled and burped as it twined around Silver's fat finger. The old cyborg plopped down on a stump and massaged his robotic leg as Neera and Jim came to a stop in front of him. Silver eyed Neera.

"Ooh, this poor old leg's gone down right snarky since that game attack we had in the hanger, eh Seer?" he laughed once in her direction trying to lighten the mood but her frown deepened. Silver's smile died with a sigh.

"So yer a Seer eh? Knew there was somethin' special 'bout yeh. Right from the start. So, do'ya think yeh can do meh a favour? Read mah fortune?" Silver smiled hopefully at the girl. Jim watched as she took a step forward.

"Sure, I'll read your fortune. You will loose all that you have searched for, and lost for," she gestured to his mechanical numbers, "This life-time obsession of yours will die. Right alongside most of your men!" She hollered the last part loud enough for the pirates camping in the trees to hear. Silver paled a bit but shook it off and grinned. He motioned both her and Jim to come closer.

"Yeh know what? If we play our cards right, we can all walk away from this, rich as kings and queens!" Neera and Jim smiled at the idea.

"Yeah?" Jim liked the sound of that. He really did. Silver chuckled.

"You, get me, that map," he looked around them carefully as if to make sure no one could hear them, "And an even portion of the treasure, is yours!" Silver pulled back happily and extended his mechanical hand. It was Jim that spoke up this time. Neera had made an impact on Silver as a Seer, now it was his turn to impress her.

"Boy, you are really something," he began, "All that talk of greatness, light coming off my sails," he circled Silver like a hawk, "What a joke!" Silver looked shocked.

"Now see here, Jimbo," he began but Jim cut him off. He was on a roll now.

"Well at least you taught me one thing, stick to it, right? Well that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure you don't see one _drabloon_ of _my_ treasure!"

"That treasure is owed me, by tunder!" Silver burst out angrily.

"Well try to find it without _my_ map, by tunder!" Jim mimicked seething. Silver growled.

"Oh yeh still don't know how to pick yer fights do yeh boy? Now mark meh," Silver stood tall and placed his hat on his head, "either I get that map by dawn tomorruh, or so help me, I'll use the ship's cannons to blast yeh all to kingdom come!" he bellowed.

Jim and Neera just stood there, unfazed by the volume of his voice. Silver growled and turned to leave.

"Morph!" he called over his shoulder. The little blob made no move to follow, instead opting to float near Neera's neck. "Hop to it!" Still, no movement from the little pink shape-shifter. "NOW!" he roared and Morph squealed and hid in the dark recesses of Neera's red-brown hair. Silver huffed and limped his way down towards his men's camp, grumbling all the way. Neera and Jim turned and crawled back into BEN's home. Mike came up excitedly and hugged her leg.

Later that night, Jim took over Neera's watch at the entrance. Amelia was muttering non-sense things.

"Gentlemen…we must stay together and….and….." she drifted in and out of this world and her own. Delbert wasn't taking it was well as any of the others.

"And what? What? WE MUST STAY TOGETHER AND WHAT?" he screamed, clutching his glasses in his hand. Amelia looked him over and smiled deliriously.

"Doctor? You have…wonderful eyes," and she was off in her own world. Delbert could only stare.

"She's lost her mind!" he yelped casting a worried glance at Jim.

"We gotta help her," Jim ran his hand through his hair trying to think of something.

"Dang it Jim I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor; I have a Doctorate; it's not the same thing; you can't help people with a Doctorate; you just sit there and you're useless!" he exclaimed sadly.

"It's ok Doc," Jim patted Delbert's back awkwardly, "It's alright."

"Yeah Doc! Jimmy knows exactly how to get out of this. It's just-it's just Jimmy has this _knowledge_ of things," BEN edged towards Jim who had moved back to his post by the door, "Jim, any thoughts at all?" Jim looked to the sky where the clear silhouette of the _RLS Legacy_ stood against the light.

"Without the map we're dead," he looked towards where the light of Silver's campfire stood out against the inky blackness, "If we try to leave we're dead," he turned to where Neera sat dozing against the wall, Mike curled up in her lap, "If we stay here…"

"We're dead! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" Morph chirped happily. Jim sighed sadly and turned back to look out the entrance. BEN stared at Jim's back.

"Well I think that, uh Jimmy could use a little _quiet time_," BEN chuckled awkwardly, "so I'll just, slip out the back door," And he turned to leave. Jim perked up.

"Back door?" he gawked as BEN turned over what he thought was a ball embedded in the ground. A pillar of blue light shone through the opening on the other end.

"Oh yeah, I get this delightful breeze through here," the door finished turning, "Which I think is important, because ventilation among friends-" Jim's ears turned off at the sight before him.

"Whoa! What is all this stuff?" he breathed.

"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that runs throughout the entire course of the inside of this planet?" BEN inquired, "Not a clue!" he deadpanned. Jim turned to Doc, Amelia and the dozing siblings.

"Hey Doc! Doc! I think I found a way outta here!" he called as he climbed to the top of the ball housing the opening. Neera lifted a still-sleeping Mike off her lap and strode over to the opening, glancing down.

"No, no Jim, wait! The captain ordered us to stay toge-" Doppler started but Jim effectively cut him off.

"I'll be back," Jim called as he disappeared into the opening. Neera ordered Doppler to watch her sleeping brother before following Jim and BEN who screamed something about cannonballs. Doppler glanced uninterestedly at the sleeping blonde boy curled in on himself beside the doctor.

"Woof!"

When Jim, Neera and BEN finally made it to the exit, they found it not less than a few meters from the camping pirates.

"SO WHAT'S THE PLAN?" BEN exclaimed loudly, bursting from the little covered hole. Jim responded faster and shut BEN's mouth shut.

"Shh BEN quiet!" he hissed under his breath as they watched Silver snore loudly before turning on his side, back facing them. None of the pirates had woken up, thank Etherium.

"Ok here it is," Jimwhispered, glanced between both BEN and Neera, "We sneak back onto the Legacy, disable the laser cannons, and bring back the map." BEN nodded.

"That's a good plan, I like that plan," the robot managed through Jim's hands. If it had been any other situation, Neera would have giggled, "The only thing I'm wondering, uh, how do we get there?" Jim released BEN's mouth and pointed to the long boat tethered not far from where they were hiding.

"On that."

Flying the long boat quietly and steadily towards the Legacy was easier said than done but somehow, Jim the genius pulled it off without any kinks. The odd trio peeked over the edge of the railing searching for any one on deck. None. Jim and Neera both crawled over the railing quiet as a mouse but BEN lost his footing and crashed to the deck.

"BEN! Shh!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry."

They snuck down the galley steppes before Jim stopped them.

"Alright, I'll get the map, Ben you wait he-"

"Roger Jimmy! I'll neutralize laser cannons SIR!" and with that he took off down the hallway singing a pirate song under his breath. Jim began protesting but Neera grabbed his arm.

"Be quick and be careful!" she hissed under her breath before pecking him on the cheek, "Beware the Spider-Psycho alright?" she smiled and went after BEN who'd turned a corner. Jim touched his cheek lightly and smiled despite himself. He shook himself loose and went to go find the map.

Neera followed BEN to the Control Panel where everything was wired.

"Disable a few laser cannons. _What_ is the big deal?" BEN muttered to himself as he opened up the panel, "All we gotta do is find that one little wire-" BEN stopped and stared in horror at the messy multitude of colorful wires, "Oh mama!"

Jim, as it were, was having more luck than BEN and Neera. He easily found the rope coils with the map still lying safely inside. Everything was going great.

And then the alarm sounded.

"BEN!" Neera called over her shoulder.

"Bad BEN! Bad! Ok, fixing!" the robot scolded himself as he plugged the wire back in. Neera was keeping watch at the door to make sure no one would ambush them while they worked. Not that they would, Neera bit back a bitter laugh. She _should_ have gone with Jim to help him out with his fight against Mr. Scroop. But then again, she'd be lying if she said that the giant, spider-like crewman didn't send fear jolting down her spine by the bucket-load. Throwing the scrubbing brush at him and threatening him back on the first day was a total fluke! Neera _still_ couldn't figure out what drove her to do that.

Meanwhile, Jim was running for the exit as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Stupid robot's gonna get us all-" he froze staring at the Spider-Psycho at the top of the stairs, "-killed."

"Cabin boy," Mr. Scroop lifted his red claw threateningly. Jim didn't wait. He turned and tore down the hallway as fast as he could, shoving barrels and boxes into the pathway hoping to slow the Spider-Psycho down. His heart pumped madly in his chest at the thought of getting caught. Mr. Scroop would not hesitate to kill him on the spot.

He heard Morph squeal behind him, followed by a 'splat'. The sounds of Mr. Scroop had stopped following him but he didn't stop to check or slow down. He just kept running. He dodged behind a small alcove and loaded his pistol. Just as he jumped out to fire at Scroop, the lights went out.

"BEN! What the fuck are you doing?!" Neera nearly screeched. She was quickly growing irritated with BEN who sat mumbling things and playing with the wires. While it had been funny watching the deranged robot mess around on the TV, sitting safe and sound amongst her brother's attempt at a pillow-fort on the couch; this was not that time. Their lives were on the line and the stress was beginning to build inside Neera like a giant, uncomfortable knot in her stomach that tasted like acid. It was building to the point where she just wanted it to end like a bad dream. To wake up, screaming and sweating safe in her bed with Mike splayed haphazardly across her and the sheets.

"Whoops!" called the deranged robot, his blinking eye-lights flickering around the small room in panic; "Ok, ok. D-don't panic. Breathing in, breathing out."

With a resounding click that echoed throughout the entire ship, all the backup lights turned on. The red lights cast eerie shadows everywhere and Mr. Scroop was nowhere to be seen. Jim's heart skipped a beat in terror. Spinning on the spot, he looked down the long hallway to his left and to his right. Nothing.

_'Ok Jimbo, don't panic. Everything gets worse when you panic,'_ Jim could feel his heart beating in his throat now. Well so much for keeping calm. He took a few tentative steps backward, ready to fire at anything that so much as moved.

Morph must have come out from where ever he'd been hiding because an alarmed squeal alerted Jim to Mr. Scroop hovering dangerously over him. Before Jim could bring his pistol up to firing position, Mr. Scroop backhanded him with a sharp red claw and knocked him clean off his feet. The blow sent the pistol flying out of reach. Now Jim could clearly hear the blood pumping through his veins. Mr. Scroop pounced on him and attempted to sever his head from his neck but Jim managed to bring up his hands to hold him off. However it was very one sided and the claw inching closer and closer to his neck.

"This has gotta be canons," BEN finalized excitedly before pulling out an innocent red wire. Immediately BEN, Neera and a bunch of other stuff began floating at the sudden loss in gravity.

"Maybe not!" BEN exclaimed uncomfortably from mid-air.

Neera stifled a bunch of curses directed at the crazy rusty robot, in favor of cursing at the newly-forming bruise on her head as her cranium met the ceiling with a loud _bang_.

Up on deck, Jim was having a harder time staying indoors. He had just kicked Mr. Scroop out of the ship and into the void over the deck and was quickly loosing the battle of keeping himself from flying out into the blue-purple depths of space. Mr. Scroop had grabbed at a hanging bit of rope and pulled himself onto the safety of the mast and Jim was floating right towards him. Flailing his arms in a mad attempt to float away from the pirate baying for his blood, Mr. Scroop's claw clipped his foot, sending him into a spinning frenzy. He rammed into the side of the Crow's Nest rather painfully but the vast amounts of adrenaline coursing through his blood ignored the pain. He barely managed to grab onto the pirate flag flapping in the breeze but when he did he scrambled to get a better grip. However, Jim's brief moment of safety didn't last as he spotted Scroop climbing up the side of the mast chuckling evilly. The pistol Jim had dropped earlier drifted casually towards him from below. Jim secured his grip on the flag and stretched out as far as he could go.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," his finger bounced off the smooth edge of the weapon, knocking it further from his grasp, "No!"

Mr. Scroop climbed over the edge of the Crow's Nest with a sneer.

"Oh yes," he chuckled and began slowly scraping the sharp side of his claw against the rope holding the flag in place; "Do say hello to Mr. Arrow. And don't worry, that Seer-girl will join you as soon as she leads us to the treasure."

Jim's mind was spinning. It was Mr. Scroop that killed Mr. Arrow? Several of the rope's fibers snapped. Jim scrambled down the flag, attaching himself to the tip of the flagpole like a leech. Scroop's big yellow eyes narrowed as he sprang from his spot on the Crow's Nest to where Jim held on for dear life. The next few seconds were a blur to him and soon he was back to holding onto the flagpole, watching a flag-entangled Scroop be swallowed by the darkness of space and the Etherium with a haunting scream.

"BEN! Put that thing back NOW!" Neera yelled from her spot on the ceiling, knocking several floating barrels out of her way. The crazy robot nodded and flailed his way to down to the Control Panel.

"BACK YA GO, YOU NAUGHTY PLUG!" he yelled, followed closely by a girly scream as the gravity was switched back on with a flash of purple light. Neera crashed in a pile of boxes and barrels with a yelp.

Jim landed in a heap on the floor of the Crow's Nest groaning in pain. Shooting several glances around to make absolute _sure_ nothing else was about to attack him, he allowed himself a few deep breaths. Morph appeared out of a calling tube, coughing and covered in soot.

"Morph?" he asked the pink floating blob, who responded with a relieved chirping.

"Laser Canons disconnected, Captain Jimmy Sir!" came a familiar voice from the deck. Jim peered over the side of the nest to see BEN wrapped up in wires still throwing remnant sparks around, "Gee! That's wasn't so tough!"

Jim could barely make out a _'Not so tough, my ass!'_ before Neera made her way up the stairs. Her hair was messed up and she looked like she'd spent all day doing cabin girl chores instead of just unplugging the canons with BEN. Jim smiled down at her. She smiled back.

"You got the map?" she called up to him. He pulled out the golden sphere from his pocket and watched the way the lights danced across the surface. Yeah, this was it alright. Jim nodded down at Neera and watched her blow away a tuft of hair from her face.

"Good. Now get down here before I throw BEN overboard."


	8. Chapter 8

******If any of you feel like strangling me, mauling me, or setting me on fire; I can totally understand. Hell, I'll probably give you my address! I am so, so, so, so sorry I haven't updated in so freakin' long. I had exams up until yesterday and have also been suffering from a near-fatal case of Writer's Block. But I do have another chapter up so I hope you'll accept my humble peace offering. This chapter isn't as long as I'd like it to be but it will have to do for now. Who knows, maybe next chapter will be twice or even 3 times longer! That's what I'm hoping at least.**  


******Disclaimer: I do NOT own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form.  
**

******Enjoy!  
**

* * *

~o0O0o~

It took longer to crawl up the shaft that lead back to BEN's place than it took to leave. At certain points, Neera had lost her grip and would have fallen to her death had it not been for Jim and BEN to catch her, just in the nick of time. But finally, they reached the final stretch that lead to the entrance. Neera wrung her hands and chewed nervously at her bottom lip. This was it. Silver would already be in BEN's home with Doppler, Amelia and Mike tied up and taken hostage, just waiting for her and Jim. Her stomach dropped at the thought of leaving her brother at the hands of the cyborg but she didn't dare bring him aboard the _RLS Legacy_ with her and Jim. What if Mr. Scroop had gotten his claws on him? Or what if he'd been thrown into space? Or what if-

Neera shook the negative thoughts from her head. If she'd read the signs correctly, then Silver had grown to like her energetic little brother and would not allow any harm to befall the little tyke. At least, that's what she hoped. She bit down on her lip a little harder, ignoring the bitter iron taste that flooded her mouth.

Jim noticed but kept any comments to himself. Neera had seemed rather distant the past couple of minutes and as they neared the entrance to BEN's home, it only got worse. But he shrugged it off, thinking that she was worried about crawling up that tall space, being as short as she was. He held back a laugh. He didn't think she'd find it as funny as him.

"Well, here we are!" BEN sang happily, attempting to give little Morph a high-five. The little pink blob gurgled and chirped in confusion as BEN's energetic metal hand swiped straight through him.

Jim was the first to climb up the shaft before reaching down help pull both BEN and Neera up. As BEN scrambled over the ledge, Jim eagerly pulled the map from his pocket and ran to the darkened corner where he'd last seen Dr. Doppler and Amelia. He didn't see Neera stiffen behind him. If he had, he might not have been so exited to get the map to Amelia and Doppler.

"Doc! Doc! Wake up! I got the map!" Jim tossed the golden sphere playfully in the air to show Doppler. He didn't expect a metal hand with multiple gears and wires to dart out of the shadows and snatch the map from his outstretched hand.

"Fine work, Jimbo. Fine work indeed," Silver observed condescendingly. Jim's eyes widened with shock. All around him, pirates were emerging from the darkness, sneering gleefully, holding Doppler, Amelia and Mike hostage. The little blond-haired boy was bound and gagged, trembling uncontrollably as the pirate holding him pressed the barrel of a gun against his head. He heard Neera gasp and rush towards her brother, only to be grabbed by a tentacled pirate and forced roughly to the ground.

"Thank for showing us the way in, _boy_!" a pirate called from somewhere in the room, before Jim moved. He darted past one nearby pirate, only to be grabbed by another. One of the pirates holding him, a fat greasy blob with several ear-piercings, howled in pain before a whimpering Morph hid in his pocket.

"What's this sorry stack o' metal?" a two-armed female pirate yanked BEN out of the entrance way, only to press a crudely-made knife against his throat joint.

Sadly, the only response the robot gave was 'Not the face!' before growing quiet as the severity of the situation dawned on him.

Silver waltzed lazily up to Jim, holding out the map, showing off his victory prize.

"Yer just like me Jimbo," he leaned in with a wicked smile; a smile that suited a treacherous pirate perfectly, "Yeh hates tah lose."

Jim didn't respond. All he could do was glare at Silver as the two grunts behind him held his arms behind his back.

Silver's moment of victory was cut short as his attempts at activating the map proved useless. The cyborg used every arm-attachment he had; his regular hand attachment didn't work; the fine finger-like attachment could not find any purchase on the smooth surface and the powerful vice-like attachment couldn't make the puzzle-sphere turn even an inch. No matter how hard Silver tried, the puzzle-sphere just would not budge.

"What the devil's-" Silver strained to open the map, but seeing that he was getting nowhere, turned to Jim who only shook his head in with a knowing smile.

The cyborg's large metal hand thrust the map in Jim's face. The pirates holding him down dropped his arms and stepped back, ready to spring on him should he try to escape or fight. Jim took the map and glared at Silver. Silver narrowed his eyes threateningly. When Jim didn't make a move to open the puzzle-map, Silver brought up his pistol arm.

"I'd get busy…" Silver let the threat hang, waving the gun vaguely in Neera's direction as clutched her brother. Her brown eyes widened as two thugs grabbed her, throwing a still-bound Mike to the ground and forcing her to her knees in front of Silver. She glared past the barrel up at Silver. She wasn't angry about being treated like a bargaining chip; oh no that was the last thing from her mind. However, she was absolutely _seething_ at the way the pirate bastards were treating her brother, taunting the already-terrified boy. It was apparent she'd thought wrong about the pirates' leader because obviously Silver didn't give a rat's ass about her brother and wouldn't even let her untie him to comfort him! Neera grit her teeth in her anger, wishing she could snap the neck of the four-eyed alien that just kicked Mike.

Jim didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he could refuse Silver's 'request' and get them all killed, and Silver wouldn't get his hands on the treasure. But on the other hand…he glanced at Neera who continued glaring at Silver with so much animosity that Jim internally reeled, and then glanced at Doppler and Amelia who were both shaking their heads at him. If he opened the map, Silver wouldn't need them anymore and they'd be killed. No, there had to be another way, another option!

Silver cocked and loaded the gun, casting a wary glance over at Jim.

Jim decided.

Without breaking eye-contact with the treacherous cyborg, Jim pushed a few buttons with fairly loud clicks and twisted the cursed map open. Green lights burst from the golden sphere, forming into the familiar form of the planet they were standing on. The surrounding pirates murmured 'ooh's and 'aah's as the image finished emerging from its container.

"All the powers that be, would yah look!" Silver stared in wonder at the image before the planet's representation deconstructed and darted out the opening in BEN's home, leaving behind a bright, green line in the air. Silver dashed to look out the opening as the green line pulsed brightly, leading off into the distance. He chuckled deeply before turning back to Jim and the others with a frown.

"Tie 'im up. And leave him with the others to be-"

The bright green line pulsed once more before the lights were sucked back into the golden sphere in Jim's palm and closed with an audible _click_.

"You want the map…you're taking me too," Jim looked up from the map in his hand to Silver standing in the doorway. By the look on his face, Silver knew there'd be no talking the young lad out of this. Silver seemed to roll the idea over in his mind but chuckled and shook his head in mock disappointment.

"We'll take 'em all!" he ordered sternly at last.

It wasn't long before Silver had them all on a large long boat, flying steadily in the direction of the pulsing green line that showed the way. The pirates that were crammed into the boat with them were all armed to the teeth and sneered at Doppler and Amelia, whom were still nice and tied up. Neera, who _still_ hadn't been allowed to untie her little brother, sat with him in her lap muttering soothing things to him under her breath.

"It's alright Mike, no one's gonna hurt us," she whispered in his ear, rocking him back and forth slightly to calm him, "After I go with Silver and Jim, I need you to stay here with Doppler and Amelia for me alright? You'll be safe with them. Remember what happens in the movie?" She waited for him to nod quietly before continuing; "I want you to do _exactly_ what Amelia and Doppler tell you to do. When you get to the ship, I want you to go to our room, alright? _Right_ as you get on the ship, _get to our room_. I'll come get you as soon as I can." She glanced down at him clutching her shirt tightly, blue eyes swimming with tears that threatened to spill over. It wrenched at her heart to see him this scared, but she would absolutelynot have him with her when they opened the door to the planet's interior. She abolished the spiral of negative thoughts from her mind with a quick shake of her head.

If nothing deviated from the plot, Doppler and Amelia would escape their hostage situation and take possession of the _RLS Legacy_. If Mike was with them, _which he would be_ if Neera had anything to say about it, she would know exactly where he was and he would be safe. At least until the planet started exploding.

"Also, Mike, the most important thing; don't say anything about what happens, ok? Not about the planet exploding or anything, got it?" He nodded, still clutching her shirt as if his life depended on it.

Meanwhile at the front of the boat, Silver was eyeing Neera and her brother. She had curled up with him in her lap, head ducked low and rocking back and forth in her seat, probably to comfort the little guy. The guilt in his stomach was growing steadily worse the longer he looked at the two siblings. Wrenching his eyes from the young Seer, he caught the glare Jim was sending his way. The cyborg grinned triumphantly and looked ahead. The Treasure of a Thousands Worlds was waiting for him at the end of the line. He didn't have time to feel guilty about anything.

Soon the air became thick as the trees grew closer and closer together. It wasn't long before Silver stopped the boat and ordered every one but Amelia, Doppler and the fat, pierced pirate, off the long boat. Neera's heart leapt to her throat. Silver was going to take Mike along with them?! She wrenched herself from the pirate holding her in place and threw herself between Silver and her brother.

"No!"

Silver stared shocked at the girl's action but quickly put on a sinister smile.

"Need somethin' to keep yeh in line, Seer," the cyborg motioned the tentacled pirate to hold her down but the girl struggled relentlessly, kicking and scratching the brute holding her.

"Stop! Alright! I'll do what you want, just please! Don't take Mike!" Neera pleaded, ceasing her struggles and staring teary-eyed up at Silver, "Please, don't take Mike. He's been through enough…" she slumped and hung her head; "…I'll do anything, just please…"

Silver watched the girl slump before him in defeat. Honestly, he couldn't have asked for anything better. In truth, Silver didn't really want to bring the little blonde boy along with them. He'd only said it to keep up appearances. So, now that the oh-so-important Seer was begging him to leave her brother out of this, she had unknowingly given him a reason not to bring the boy into harm's way. Silver pretended to mull it over, scratching his chin for added affect.

"Hmmm, anything?" he pondered aloud.

Neera nodded dejectedly from her position on the ground. Silver grinned.

"How 'bout it boys? Whatcha say to a taste of the Seer's powers, eh?"

All the pirates yelled and hollered affirmatives and Silver grabbed Neera by her shirt and pulled her up to stand.

"Let's hear it Seer. Tell us our fortunes," he released her shirt and she staggered slightly.

"Danger," she mumbled but everyone caught it, "And fire, lots of fire. Most of you won't survive the next 10 hours."

Silence fell upon everyone present. A shiver went down Silver's spine as Neera's deep brown eyes focused on him; "But, you will find gold, jewels and more treasures than you could possibly carry." Neera recalled watching the scene where they opened up the door to the interior of the planet and showed the vast amount of treasure that completely covered the surface of the core. It was breathtaking to say the least.

That was enough to erase the gloom hanging over the pirates as they danced and hollered with joy.

"Gold, rubies and diamonds!" they sang happily, completely forgetting the first half of Neera's 'prophecy.' Even Silver seemed to forget as he imagined swimming up to his eyeballs in treasures.

"Alright lads, the little runt stays here with the dog and the ex-captain," Silver ordered, "And no harmin' the little fella, for the Seer's sake!" Silver pouted dramatically and laughed along with the bandits. Neera ran past Jim and kissed Mike quickly on the cheek.

"You be good now, ok?" she asked loud enough for everyone to hear and pulled the boy in for a one-sided hug as he was still tied up, "Remember, _straight_ into our room when you get on the ship," she whispered hurriedly so that only he could hear. Mike nodded and Neera smiled. "I love you, Mike."

"Alright, that's enough Seer. Let's get on with it!"

The tentacled pirate grabbed her roughly and shoved her away from her brother.

"Nee-nee!" was all she heard before they plunged headfirst into the forest.

Walking up to Jim, Neera hung her head sadly. Jim nudged her with his shoulder gently and smiled at her. Morph came out from hiding in Jim's pocket to curl about in her hair. The little pink blob chirped sadly and burped.

"It's ok Morph," Neera crooned softly, petting the morph softly, "It's ok."

BEN walked up from behind and nervously tapped Jim on the shoulder.

"Jimmy, I-I don't know 'bout you but I-I'm starting to see my life, pass in front of my eyes!" the poor robot clutched at his head, "At least, I think it's my life. WAS I EVER DANCING WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPÉ?"

Startled at the sudden increase in volume, Jim stole a glance around. None of the other pirates seemed to be paying much, if any, attention to them.

"BEN, shh!" he hushed the bumbling robot, "This isn't over yet," he reassured, stealing a glance at Silver's back.

The cyborg looked up at the green line, pulsing faster and faster till it was almost a solid green line. The line disappeared through a thick cluster of trees. This must be the end of the line! A huge grin broke out on Silver's face.

"We're getting close lads!" he called behind him, "I smell treasure awaitin'!" Pulling out his sword attachment, Silver grabbed Jim and the map, yanking him forward. A few slices at the trees revealed a great, big-

Cliff. A great big, open nothingness. A huge expanse of blue-green soil and grey sky. The cliff stuck out from the forest they'd just come from and the green pulsing line was still there, disappearing into thin air at the tip of the cliff's edge.

"Where is it?" a gruff voice of a pirate asked.

"I see nothing!" another, smaller pirate with multiple eyes screeched, "One great, big, stinkin' crank of nothing!"

The lights from the green pulsing line suddenly retracted into the golden sphere in Jim's hand.

"What's going on Jimbo?" Silver demanded as the young man struggled to reopen the stubborn puzzle-sphere without any luck.

"I don't know. I can't get it open!" Jim tried again and failed. The two-armed female pirate's patience snapped.

"We should never have followed this _boy_!" she sneered, jumping up and knocking Jim to the ground. Someone pushed Neera and she stepped back and tripped over Jim's hunched form, landing harshly on her back with a yelp.

"I'd suggest you get that gizmo goin' again. And fast!" Silver's words fell on deaf ears as Neera's hand accidentally scraped some moss off the ground revealing a hole in the ground; a hole about the same size and shape of the puzzle-map.

The pirates behind them were screaming in outrage, throwing out suggestions of revenge, one of the most popular being one where the bandits tossed Jim and Neera over the side of the cliff.

"Jim," Neera called his name softly getting his attention. He saw her eyes flicker from the hole in the ground to the map in his hand and nodded once. Without delay, Jim shoved the golden sphere into the hole. Almost immediately, the ground lit up with the same strange symbols that had been on the inside of BEN's home as the sound of something large powering up filled the air. The air became heavy and the winds picked up.

Jim helped Neera stand as a glowing green orb emerged from the ground where he'd just set the map. The strange glowing orb had dark green shapes inside that looked strangely like planets and galaxies. But before Jim could explore the green orb further, a sound like thunder traveled across the sky and it seemed to be growing louder.

"Look!" Neera yelped, pointing out into the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw strange ominous lights darting across the valley floor from all directions, heading straight for the cliff they were standing on. He wasn't the only one. Silver and the others had also seen it and were taking a step back from the edge of the cliff. But not Neera. She stood proudly near the edge of the cliff, red-brown hair tossed wildly about in the roaring winds.

The lights gathered at the foot of the cliff and shot high into the sky like a golden pillar. All the pirates yelped and screamed in fear, throwing themselves on their knees before the lights. Silver clenched his eyes at the brightness of the pillar but when nothing happened, he cracked open an eye. There before him stood a larger than life image of the Lagoon Nebula. Standing at the base of the image stood Neera, gazing up in wonder at the spectacle. Again, she chuckled inwardly; the movie did not do the scene any justice. The portal was gargantuan! The golden pillars that outlined the peaceful blue of the nebula hummed like a hive of bees, steadily radiating a peaceful, golden warmth.

While Silver and his men openly gaped at the portal, Jim stared in wonder at the girl at its base. The strange girl looked the part of a powerful Seer in everyway; something more than a mere human. Outlined in golds and blues, Neera stood silently, staring up into the portal's gate. The wind was still tossing her hair about in a crazy dance and when she turned to him; her eyes sparkled like the Etherium, shining with an otherworldly light.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and focused on returning his breathing to normal. Neera's bright eyes turned to Silver whose mouth was opening and closing but words had long since failed him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello there! Before any of you attempt to strangle me with shoelaces, ties, socks or whatever you have lying around, I am truly, truly, truly, truly sorry for the really long delay in this chapter. I've had a lot on my plate lately. This chapater isn't as long as I'd like it to but alas, we are nearing the end of the story. I still not entirely sure how I'm gonna send Neera and Mike home; I have two versions in my head so I think I'll just flip a coin and work with the results. My goal for this story is to at the very least have 10 chapters but more is always welcome if it happens. Anyways, I hope this ends in me not dying. I can't update if I'm dead so don't hate me too much? I'll keep my fingers crossed.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I do own Neera and Mike though. Those two are mine to corrupt.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~o0O0o~

"The Lagoon Nebula?" Jim stared up in wonder at the gigantic image of the star system that was located halfway across the galaxy. The blues and whites of the nebula swirled around peacefully; stars blinking in and out of sight. Silver scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"But, that's halfway 'cross the galaxy," the pirate leader murmured in slight amazement.

Jim looked down at the glowing green orb before him. The sphere was littered with hundreds of darker green blobs and shapes, some of which looked familiar to Jim. Not knowing what would happen, Jim took a chance and pressed a random shape; one in the shape of a triangle within a circle. The giant golden triangle showing the Lagoon Nebula shut with a heavy buzzing sound before opening up again, showing a different image. Floating hunks of rock littered with advanced buildings floated in a row as small aircrafts flew towards their destinations. A ship zoomed past the portal opening, humming deeply in Jim's chest.

"A big door…opening and closing," Jim murmured to himself as he pressed another 'button' in the floating green sphere. The image of the floating cities vanished, replaced by vast desert landscape in the mist of a sandstorm. Tall rock-like structures were the only things standing up to the roaring winds but somewhere in Jim's mind; he knew that even they would succumb to erosion one day. Jim racked his brain.

_'A big door,' _he wondered again, searching the glowing green orb for the answers.

"Let's see…" his blue-gray eyes darted between the shapes looking for anything familiar amongst the green, "Kainapis." He pointed to the planet. Somewhere behind Kainapis was a green shape, like that of a sliver of the moon. With a small laugh, Jim wove his finger through the green maze and pressed it.

"Montressor Spaceport."

The moon sliver clicked and glowed brightly before the golden-edged triangle closed and opened again, this time showing the Space Port in all its glory. Realization struck Jim like lightning as he began pushing buttons with more and more fervor.

"So that's how Flint did it," he exclaimed out loud, efficiently catching Silver's attention, "He used this…portal, to roam the universe, stealing treasure!" Before he could so much as push another planet, Silver shoved him aside in frustration.

"But where'd he stash it all?" Silver stabbed button after button, opening door after door in a series of brightly flashing lights.

One minute the portals opened on a liquid hot inferno; on multitudes of giant neuron balls whirring and whizzing through their dimension; then a vast open sea with large bulbous seeds floating like beach balls on the water's surface. When the door opened to a giant monster with six short legs, two long arms and mouthful of razor sharp teeth, Jim heard Neera squeal in terror as she darted behind him for cover, clutching his shirt like a life-line. Jim felt a stab of pride in his gut at her action; she had fled to him in her terror. She considered him able to protect her, she felt safe with him. The thought warmed him inside and out and he fought the smile creeping onto his face, instead replacing it with a scowl directed at Silver. But in the end Neera had nothing to worry about because the monster barely had time to let out a roar before Silver jammed his mechanical finger onto a different planet.

"Where's…that…blasted…treasure?!" Silver's frustration crept into his tone with every door opened, revealing not the treasure he'd spent a lifetime searching for, but rather different galaxies and planets unknown even to him.

"Treasure," BEN clasped his head in his hands with the occasional twitch, "Treausure! It's…buried in the-" the poor robot struggled to form words as he pulled at his wires the same way a person might pull at his hair. The gears in Jim's head turned and clicked.

"Buried in the centroid of the mechanism," he let the words fall slowly from his tongue, feeling around them, searching through them for the answer hidden within. Neera fidgeted beside him, wringing her hands uneasily. He shot her a questioning glance. She smiled and shook her head.

"Not allowed to say," she grinned nervously; glancing at the back of the frustrated Silver to be sure he hadn't heard her. The girl glanced at the ground, met Jim's eyes again before motioning to the ground again with her eyes. It clicked.

"What if… the whole planet is the mechanism!" he exclaimed, "And the treasure is buried in the center of this planet!"

At his words, the pirates shared a look before diving after the digging tools and clawing at the ground below their feet. Neera clasped a hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her giggles at the look on their faces when the pickaxes bent out of shape and the dim-witted pirates realized that they were standing on a _very_ solid, metallic surface. That however was the straw of patience Silver had before he let his frustrations get the better of him.

"And how in blue blazes are we supposed to get there?" the angry cyborg returned to stabbing various buttons and planets in a mad hope that he would come across the right button. Jim smirked and pushed the larger pirate out of the way.

"Just open the right door," he stated simply, not-so-silently criticizing Silver's intellect. Weaving his way past the other planets and making his way to the very center of the glowing green orb, Jim gently pushed the button in the shape of the planets they stood on; Treasure Planet, the lot of a thousand worlds.

The portal closed with a satisfied hum before opening again. From where they stood, the group could see a large pipe-like structures protruding like stalactites from the vas, open ceiling. They could even feel the pleasant heat emanating from the core of the planet only a few feet away.

Jim reached a tentative hand forward, only to meet the portals 'door'. It was cool to the touch, almost as if he'd submerged his hand in a tub of water. The portal's surface danced around his arm in a thick haze, making it hard to see through where it had once been crystal clear. Jim experimentally wriggled his fingers from the other side of the portal. He felt weird in the sudden realization that in fact his body was standing on the planet's surface, whilst his hand was currently in the center. It was two completely different places and yet, he was right there and so was his hand, only it wasn't. It was confusing but made sense at the same time. Wasting no more time to think over how technically he was in two places at once, Jim stepped the rest of the way through the barrier.

Silver reached through the portal and grabbed Jim's shoulder, keeping him in place. Jim internally scoffed. Where was he going to run to?

The rest of the pirates ran through the portal, none willing to be left behind in what could easily be the biggest moment of their lives. Neera fell behind. She watched as all the pirates ran ahead of Silver who was dragging Jim along. Why didn't any of these pirates-by-trade think to check for a simple tripwire? Or did they all forget in the heat of the moment?

Neera remembered, oh yes, she remembered. How could she not? It had been the only part of the movie she'd always cursed at people's stupidity. To her, it was common sense; like a math equation; you could only end up with one correct answer. Big treasure beyond all reason = booby traps. She eyed the small blinking device that would ultimately be their downfall. Oh Nathanial Flint, you greedy, paranoid son-of-a-bitch! Neera glanced back at the group of pirates screaming in joy and wonder at the sheer amount of gold, jewels and other priceless treasures that covered the core of the planet like a thick golden blanket. Had she thought about telling Jim about the little welcoming trap? Yes. But that would _really_ mess up the whole plot if her mere presence hadn't already. There was no Neera and Michael Knight in Treasure Planet; no being who could see the future; and certainly no confusing feelings about love between the main character and a girl who doesn't even exist in this universe. Neera felt a frown pull at her lips and she vaguely wondered how old she looked. Was it as old as she felt? Talk about having too much on her metaphorical plate. She wished she could go back to her boring life in her empty house, taking care of Mike and taking him out to play. She wouldn't even complain about the lack of her parents in her life if only she and Mike could return safe and sound to their own world.

Neera was yanked out of her inner turmoil as Silver's grubby human hand grasped the thin cotton of her shirt and dragged her forward.

"Look alive Seer! It's my turn to tell you a fortune!" he laughed heartily as he all but threw her into a large pile of gold, jewels and other assorted treasures. The pirates that weren't running through the piles screaming in joy about needing a bigger boat, laughed at her as Jim helped her to her feet. The girl clutched the material of his shirt as Silver clapped his hands once and threw his arms open wide, efficiently getting everyone's attention.

"The future I see?" Silver paused for effect, "Is a planet all to myself somewhere in the Summerset Star System. One of the biggest damn mansions they've got with enough drink to drink myself stupid!" The pirates laughed and cheered and Silver continued, "And you, little missy," he turned to Neera, sneering down at her, "You'll be our personal Seer, telling us when and where there be treasure for the takin'!" At this, the crowd of pirates whooped and hollered with glee. Their own personal Seer! If they weren't already rich up till their eyeballs, they could sell her services, charging people to have their fortunes sold.

Jim could feel the girl in his arms shaking like a leaf. He couldn't blame her honestly. To be locked up, only used for the powers Neera herself didn't want. He still remembered her crying on the deck only a few days prior. God, it felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

_She sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna see the future. I don't wanna know what's gonna happen, but I do." she began sobbing quietly._

She obviously didn't see her powers in the same way Silver saw them. Where he only saw golden opportunities to steal and plunder treasures, she saw the more negative side of it; people dying slow deaths, whether it was years from now or in the next month. Jim felt a shudder travel down his back. He couldn't imagine seeing the people he cared about; his mother, Dr. Doppler and Neera; die every time he looked at them.

And there was nothing she could do about it. As long as they had her brother, Neera would have no choice but to do whatever they'd ask of her.

Jim wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as the girl continued to shake uncontrollably.

Silver jumped into the fray, running his hands through the endless piles of gold and jewels and leaving Jim along with BEN and Neera. BEN was glancing around, scratching at his exposed wires, murmuring things under his breath. Neera continued to shake.

"Neera? You gonna be alright?" Jim pulled back to look at her face. To his surprise, she wasn't crying. Yes, her eyes were red and she was forcing back the tears but her face was set into hard determination.

"There is no way I'm going to be Silver's little bitch!" she hissed venomously under her breath so only Jim and BEN could hear her, "We're getting out of here!"

Jim looked at her confused, "But what about Mike. Silver's men still have him."

At this, Neera smirked, "Oh don't worry about him. If he's doing what I told him to do, he'll be safe on the ship right about now."

Jim smiled. This was his Neera; stubborn in all the right and wrong ways and would figure out how to get everyone home safely or die trying. If Silver thought she'd cave easily just because he held her brother 'hostage', boy did he have another thing coming. And now that her brother was safe and out of harm's way, Jim was sure all hell was about to break loose.

"This is all…seeming very familiar," BEN mumbled uncertainly to himself, drawing Jim and Neera's attention to him. Jim stared past the confused robot to an old ship lying on top of a heaping amount of gold. The purple lasers that hummed and occasionally shot into the open holes of the core, lit up the space behind it.

Meanwhile BEN continued muttering about whatever it was he was going on about, "I-I can't remember why!"

Jim glanced at Silver's back. The pirate leader was busy with his pile of gold, his back to them. This was their chance!

"BEN, Neera, c'mon," he made his way to the edge of the large platform, carefully lowering himself to the treasure-covered ground, trying not to make too much noise. The last thing he wanted was to catch Silver's attention just as they were about to make their escape,"We're getting out of here and we're _not_ leaving empty-handed."

BEN began to protest but they fell on deaf ears as the group made their way towards the ship's remains. Neera cast a wary glance over at Silver but he was still busy muttering something to his precious pile of gold.

"You know what's strange? I can't tell you how frustrating this is, Jimmy," Ben continued rattling on and on about nothing and everything as they made their way to the side of the wreckage. Jim scrambled up and over the side of the ship, leaning over to help both Neera and BEN up, "'cause there something…it's _nagging_ at the back of my mind," BEN never got to finish his train of thought as a girlish wail escaped from his metallic head and he promptly crashed to the floor of the ship in a pile. Jim and Neera both looked at what had startled BEN so much.

"Captain Flint?" Jim breathed. BEN finished peeling himself off the floor.

"In the flesh!" Neera rolled her eyes at the robot's poor, _poor_ choice of words, "Well s-sort of. Except…for skin, organs or anything that-that-that _resembles_ flesh. T-that's not there…" BEN trailed off awkwardly as Jim stepped forward. Neera stayed where she stood; far, far from the skeletal remains of the notorious captain. Of course she knew that it wasn't like it was going to pop up and attack her, but it still gave her the willies like nothing else. Jim moved closer to the skeleton sitting in his throne amongst the treasure.

Meanwhile, BEN was _still_ jabbering away, something about his mind, "A-and yet it's so odd you know, I mean I remember there was s-something _horrible_ Flint didn't want anyone else to know but…I-I just, I can't remember what it was!"

Jim clasped his hands around Flint's bony hand and ripped away the fingers holding a small circuit trapped in its small confine. He resisted the urge to retch as the ancient fingers, dried ligaments and tendons ripped and broke away with a sound of shattering glass before dissolving into a fine, powdered dust. Jim looked at the circuit again. He looked towards BEN who was striking a dramatic pose.

"OH, a mind is a terrible thing to loose!" the dramatic robot cried

"BEN? I think I just found your mind!" Jim cried. Ignoring how strange it sounded to say that, he rushed over, grabbing the robot's head in one hand and the circuit board in the other.

"Hold still."

"Aha! Jimmy! You're hand are very, very cold-"

Just as he was wondering if he was going to need a soldering iron to fix everything together, the loose wires sticking out of BEN's head shot up and connected to the circuit board by itself. BEN's voice changed mid-sentence; sounding very robot-y and metallic-y before returning to its normal patterns.

"Whoa! Hello!" BEN's once green eyes changed to a steady blue, "You know, uh Jimmy, I was just thinking- I was just – think! Its all coming back! ALL MY MEMORIES!" Jim smiled triumphantly as BEN dance around happily, "RIGHT UP UNTIL FLINT PULLED OUT MY MEMORY CIRCUIT SO I COULD NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT HIS BOOBY TRAP!"

As if on cue, a loud explosion went off just above the wreckage of the ship they were all standing in. All eyes were immediately drawn to it as BEN cowered.

"Speaking of which…"

Silver and the other pirates looked up from their treasure exploration just in time to see a series of explosions line the base of one of the large metal pipes that hung from the ceiling.

"Flint wanted to make sure that nobody could ever steal his treasure, so he rigged this whole planet to blow HIGHER THAN A KALIPIAN KITE!"

With one last explosion, the large pipe fell heavily to the core's surface. The spear-like tip effectively pierced through the heavy golden blanket of treasure, leaving behind a large fracture that continued spreading outward in a series of heated cracks. The purple lasers, knocked off their original course, began carving through the open fields of treasure, melting the gold on contact where it then seeped into the cracks and formed a rapidly growing pool of molten metal at the very center of the core. Pirates ran this way and that, trying to outrun the deadly lasers. The few who were caught in it were instantly vaporized.

"RUN JIMMY! RUN NEERA! RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIFE!" BEN screamed, tugging so harshly on Neera's shirt that the robot almost ripped it clean off her.

"You two go back and help the captain and Doc!" Jim ordered before he disappeared under the control panel where all the important wires were, "If I'm not there in 5 minutes," he hesitated for a second, "leave without me."

BEN however wasn't going without Jimmy.

"I am NOT leaving my buddy, Jimmy!" BEN yanked violently at Jim's legs, dragging the young man out from under the control panel. He was holding two sparking wires, one in each hand, and glaring fiercely at the irritating robot, "Unless he looks at me like that," the rusting robot added awkwardly, "BYE JIM!" And with that, the robot dropped Jim's feet like hot potatoes and ran to the side of the boat where he wasted no time climbing out of the ship, opting instead to just jump clear overboard. Neera didn't so much as think about leaving the safety of the ship she was currently standing on. The mountains of gold slid steadily towards the large crevices made by the run-away lasers. Caskets and chests filled with gold and countless other treasures fell to the molten center of the giant bomb of a planet. As she watched, two pirates; the tentacled man who'd held her down earlier and another, tried carrying away a large chest still filled with gold from the approaching chasm of death. They didn't make it. Even though they decided their lives were worth more than a treasure chest full of gold, they'd made the decision too late and fell to their deaths as the surrounding gold dragged them down to the molten pit below. Neera couldn't believe it. This was still a kid's movie right? Well, kid's movie or not, she could die here if she didn't do something.

Running towards Jim still under the control panel, she ducked her head under it yelling over the explosions and noise.

"Jim! What do I need to do?" She'd be dammed if she just sat around waiting for the movie's plot to save her; if in fact it saved her at all. Jim stopped what he was doing and stared at her with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, "You should have left with BEN!"

Surprising herself, Neera found herself grinning, "Don't worry! They'll be fine! Besides! I can't let you have all the life-threatening fun, now can I?"

Jim continued to stare at her, opening and closing his mouth but no words came out. A million things flashed in his eyes, so fast that Neera couldn't keep up with the emotions flickering across his face. Confusion, anger, frustration, and was there a hint of accusation? Finally he took a deep breath.

"You knew about this didn't you?"

Neera nodded sadly. Again, Neera thought she saw accusation flit across those blue-grey eyes of his.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

At this Neera grinned. She didn't know why she was grinning and it most certainly was not the right time to be grinning like she'd just shared a joke with some friends, but never-the-less, Neera was grinning.

"If I'd told you Treasure Planet was a giant bomb, would you still have come?"

Jim said nothing and went back to work trying to bring a near-ancient ship back to life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello there my adorable readers! How fare thee today! Or tonight? Or whenever it is you finally get to reading this. Although many of you will probably hate me for it; want to burn and maul me for it, but THIS is the last chapter of 'An Unexpected Journey'. The final official chapter of Neera and Mike's adventures in the world that is Treasure Planet. It is extra long so hopefully that will appease some of my readers because let's face it; I haven't exactly been updating as often as I should.**

**Even though I have looked through this chapter several times, I am sure there are a few spelling and grammatical errors somewhere. I am not perfect and often overlook the stupidest mistakes. Just bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I do own my strange OC's though. Those are mine to corrupt as I please.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

~oO0Oo~

* * *

"Are there any lights on it at all?" Jim called from under the control panel. He'd been fiddling with the sparking wires for a few mind-numbing seconds before Neera's cry of joy alerted him of power in the ancient ship.

"Yes! Yes, the lights are on!" Neera squealed happily at the sign of progress. Every second counted as the purple lasers cut through more and more of the core's surface. Every second was a chance of survival. Every wasted second was a lost chance, one they would not be getting back. Neera spared a precious second to thank her lucky star - she was fairly certain she had one at this point in time – that Jim was a genius and could work the wires of the ship. Had she been on her own, she'd already be dead. Neera didn't want to admit it but it was hard fact. She couldn't even hotwire a car back in her own world, so there was no way in hell she'd be able to figure something as complicated as a ship's engine in a mere matter of seconds. Add to the fact that she'd never been good at working under pressure in a normal situation, when this was easily ten times worse. Where each second ticked by like a death bell, sounding off each failed attempt, each second a moment of life wasted, each second a moment of life she'd never get back, each second bringing Death closer and closer to the point where you could feel his cold and clammy breath at the back of your neck….yeah, that was something Neera would never have been able to do.

Jim jumped up from the floor and began punching buttons and pulling levers to bring the old machine back to life. So they could live, Neera thought dryly. Man, this whole 'sucked into another world for a life of adventure' was overrated. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her normal boring life, hanging out at the normal boring park with her semi-normal boring brother in a normal boring house with her not-really-normal but boring parents. She'd had enough adventure for several lifetimes.

Suddenly, she felt like they were being watched. Her head shot up from watching Jim at the control panel to meet with the golden gleam of Silver's mechanical eye. She watched as his face morphed into one of surprised shock – probably because she'd caught him watching them – before breaking out into a smile that sent chills down Neera's spine.

* * *

~oO0Oo~

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the longboat where Doppler, Amelia and Mike still sat, tied up and useless. Even though they were floating in the air thanks to their longboat, they still felt the tremors that shook the ground.

"All my life I've dreamed of an adventure like this," Doppler confessed, staring off into the woods that surrounded them, "I'm just sorry I couldn't have been…more helpful to you."

Amelia would have none of the pity-apologies. She might be tied up but she still had her pride. But something about the doctor, something she didn't quite know what, made her order to 'man up' come out as more of; dare she say it; a compliment?

"Don't be daft. You've been very helpful. Truly," she added, knowing Doppler wouldn't believe her kind words.

Her words struck a chord in Doppler. Amelia, the strong-willed woman who never shared a kind word with him on the entire trip, was tied up beside him, encouraging him that he in fact was not a useless lump of flesh on this voyage.

"I feel like such a useless weakling!" he cried, cradling his head in his hands. Wait. His hands? He stared at them for a short moment, "With abnormally thin wrists."

He hid his untied hands quickly behind his back, squeezing Amelia's softly, as to not alarm her of what he was about to do. He had a plan, a very simple plan but an effective one none-the-less.

"Excuse me, brutish pirate!" he called as condescendingly as he could. The fat, pierced pirate burped disgustingly as he scratched his armpit, "Yes, you. I have a question! Is it that your body is too massive for your _teeny-tiny_ head or is it that your head is too teeny-tiny for your _big fat body_?"

The pierced pirate looked dumfounded for a second before looking down at himself. Finally figuring out that the doctor was making fun of him, the pirate growled and waddled across the longboat to grasp Doppler by the collar of his shirt. Mike smiled knowingly and scooted closer to Amelia.

"I pummel you good!" he exclaimed in a thick Russian accent. Doppler cringed away from the pirate's breath. Dear God! Did he ever brush? But he ignored it as 'Step 2' of his plan was now in action.

"Yes! I'm sure you will," Doppler squeaked weakly, "But I have one more question! Is this yours?" he added innocently, pointing the laser pistol he'd swiped from the pirate's belt not a moment ago, at his gigantic, flabby belly. The pirate stared dumbly at the weapon aimed at his belly.

"Uuuuh."

Mike giggled.

* * *

~oO0Oo~

* * *

"Yes!" Neera cried. She was leaning over the side of the ship, watching as the engine sparked to life, lifting the ancient vessel off the ground just as the once-solid ground fell to pieces. She ran to Jim standing at the wheel and hugged him from behind.

"Yes! You did it! We're not gonna die!" she squealed happily into Jim's shoulder. Jim didn't bother trying to hide the violent blush that crept to his face. He had more important things to do; like saving their hides. But the way Neera's body was pressed up against his was distracting to say the least, so instead he focused on her excitement and let it fuel his own.

"Yes! We are so outta here!"

Morph laughed manically as he flew between Jim and Neera.

"Aah Jimbo!" a call came from behind them. Neera and Jim both turned to see Silver jump down onto their ship, "Aren't yeh the seventh wonder of the universe!"

Jim chanced a quick glance around, for anything he could use to fend Silver off. There! Darting forward, he grabbed a sword that had been sticking out of a pile of gold and stabbing it threateningly in Silver's direction. The cyborg stopped his advance and stared down at the blade.

"Get! Back!" Jim ordered, silently thanking whatever god out there that his voice didn't crack or waver, despite his nerves. Silver looked up slowly, glaring at Jim from under his hat.

"I like yeh lad. But," his mechanical arm shot forward and grasped Neera's arm, pulling her to him in one quick movement. Jim didn't even have time to swing his sword. Neera cried out in pain and struggled against the cyborg uselessly. It was only after she'd stomped on his normal foot really hard that Silver grunted in pain and brought out a small knife - well, even though it was small, the blade was still about the length of Jim's hand – and held it against Neera's throat.

"But, I've come too far to let you stand between me and meh treasure."

Silver pressed the blade against Neera's throat threateningly, earning a quiet whimper from the girl.

This was so not fair! It seemed that no matter how hard Neera tried to keep her involvement in the movie to a minimum, life just dragged her kicking and screaming right into the thick of things. Jim was still standing in front of the steering wheel holding his sword but he was too scared to move; too scared to attack. Because of her. Because Neera had gotten indirectly involved_ again_. And now Silver was holding a knife to her throat. Somewhere deep in her little black heart, Neera knew he would have no qualms in slitting her throat to get what he wanted. This just wasn't fair.

"Let her go, Silver," Jim ordered, keeping his sword raised in Silver's direction. The cyborg smirked; at least Neera thought he smirked, she couldn't really see his face, and pressed the blade harder into her throat. Neera bit back a hiss as a small drop of blood oozed its way past the knife and down her neck. Jim's eyes widened and he lowered his sword a little. The cyborg's smirk grew and he took a step forward, dragging Neera along with him.

Neera winced as the knife moved along her skin with the movement and another drop of the crimson liquid ran down her throat to join its predecessor. Despite everything going on, a small part of Neera's mind whispered: _'Wasn't something supposed to happen right about now?'_

Just as Silver came within striking distance of Jim, a large purple beam of heat and fire struck the side of the ancient ship knocking everyone flying over the edge of the railing. Silver managed to grab the railing's edge and Neera had been lucky enough to grab a hold of his coat to prevent herself from being flung into the molten pool below. Jim hadn't been as lucky and had fallen way beyond the surface of the ledge to the opposite wall, clawing madly at the unyielding metal for a handhold. After a few terrifying moments of grasping at nothing but air and slick metal, Jim caught on a small ledge.

However, in the sudden jolt of the laser hitting the ship, Silver's knife had accidentally sliced clean through the skin on Neera's collarbone, narrowly missing her neck and major arteries. Neera grasped at Silver's coat and screamed in agony as the pain registered in her adrenaline-fueled mind. Silver glanced down at her and both his normal and mechanical eye widened at the sight of the blood pooling steadily down the girl's front. A heated buzzing alerted him to the purple laser eating through the ship and all her golden treasures. Stealing another quick glance at Neera, telling himself over and over that she'd be fine, he turned his attention back to the ship with the gold.

"Oh no, you don't!" Silver grunted heavily, pulling the ship towards himself and out of the laser's deadly fire.

Neera felt the world swimming in and out of focus. This was bad; this was very, very bad. She was loosing too mush blood. She would have cried out to Silver but her tongue felt swollen and glued to the roof of her mouth. Morph's blurred pink form darted back and forth in front of her, squealing madly in panic. Neera felt the rough fabric of Silver's coat slip from her grip and she collapsed in the small chunk of surviving floor.

The mad cyborg was still fighting to keep the ship out of the laser's way. Why wasn't he helping her? Couldn't her see she was in pain? Jim would already have her halfway down to the medical ward if he were here. Jim…Jim? Where was he anyway? They were supposed to swab the decks together. If he'd run out on the chores, she'd give him a piece of her mind.

BAM!

The loud sound of a ship crashing into the small pillar of floor that remained shocked Neera out of her blood-loss induced daydreams. She could hear Morph's panicked gurgling and babbling, telling the cyborg about Jim's predicament. Neera grit her teeth and forced herself off the floor. Dying would just have to wait a little while longer. Dragging herself to her knees was harder than it should have been.

"Silver!" Neera groaned as pain flared from her wound, "Silver!" she called louder, hoping that she caught his attention.

The cyborg turned his head and she saw his eyes widen. She must really look like a mess.

"Where's Jim?" she struggled to get to her feet but the dizziness in her head would have none of it and she fell to her knees. The cyborg glanced around, finally spotting the young man struggling to remain alive on the wall right across from them.

"Jimbo!" Silver cried.

Exchanging his hand attachment for an extending vice, Silver grasped the ship in one hand and stretched out for Jim with the other. Jim was still scrambling to hold onto his little ledge.

"Reach for me now!" Silver called, extending his mechanical attachment for all it was worth. Only inches remained between the cyborg's hand and Jim's. Jim reached out for it as far as he could but anymore and he'd fall. Jumping was out of the question; there was nowhere to put his feet and he didn't have a good enough handhold to even attempt such a daring maneuver.

"I-I can't!" Jim exclaimed. He was bordering on panic now, he could feel it. The intense heat from below was not helping to calm him in any way and the muscles in his arms were starting to burn with the effort of holding him up.

"Silver, you can't reach him! Let go of the ship!" Jim heard Neera scream over the sound of the explosions. The small ledge he held onto crackled ominously and disappeared into the wall. Jim felt his heart in his throat as he slipped farther down the slick metal wall, only to grasp another small ledge. He struggled for a firmer grip and ignored the burning in his arms.

Silver was conflicted, looking between Jim and the ship full of precious gold. The gold in the ship sparkled and winked at him. Silver looked down at where Jim still hung for his life. He tried stretching his mechanical arm a little more but he'd already stretched it to the limit. While he waged his internal war, Neera it seemed, had grown tired of his severe lack of decision making.

"SILVER! You drop that ship RIGHT NOW or so help me, I will THROW YOU OVER THE EDGE!"

Neera's piercing scream made the decision for the conflicted pirate. With a loud growl and a curse, Silver released the ship loaded with gold and rushed to Jim's rescue. And not a moment too soon; the ledge Jim hung onto disappeared into the wall and Jim felt the weightless sensation of falling. The cyborg's fleshy hand closed around Jim's and the young man felt a sharp tug as his shoulder took the brunt of the sudden stop. Silver hauled Jim up to the edge of the floor with a chuckle as Neera helped drag him up by his shirt.

As soon as he was on the solid floor, Neera threw her arms around him, pulling him in close and squeezing him.

"You're alive!" she cried into his shirt, "You're ok!"

With those words, the adrenaline faded from her system and she collapsed against the young man. Jim shook her shoulder worriedly, gasping in shock when his hands came away red and sticky. Flipping her so that she was on her back, Jim eyed the damage with wide eyes.

The front of her shirt was covered in blood, matted and sticky with the crimson liquid. A large cut on her collarbone was oozing steadily, showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Jim cast a confused glance at Silver beside him.

"What in the world-" Jim never got to finish his question as the ship filled with gold floated directly into the laser's path and exploded in a ball of fire and half-melted gold. The half-molten gold rained down on the men, burning their skin on contact. Silver scooped up a small handful of the heated coins with his mechanical hand and pressed them carefully to Neera's still-bleeding wound.

The barely-conscious girl snapped at attention and screamed as the metal seared her flesh closed.

"Hold her down lad! I need to stop the bleedin'!" Silver ordered and Jim complied. Holding Neera down was harder that it looked but soon the smell of burning flesh permeated the air around them. Halfway through the closing of her wound, Neera shoved her fist in her mouth to keep from crying out. It wasn't long before a small trickle of blood ran down her clenched fist that alerted Jim to the fact that Neera had broken through the skin. A few agonizing minutes later, the cut on Neera's collarbone was red and raw but no longer bleeding.

"C'mon lad, we've got to get out of here!" Silver hefted the half-conscious Neera in his arms and began trotting towards the exit. It took them a while to dance around the purple lasers and the giant cracks leading toward a fiery doom but somehow they managed without a hitch.

They jumped through the red haze of the portal door leading to the surface, gasping and clutching their sides as they each took breath after breath of blessedly cool air. Jim turned to the cyborg at a sudden realization.

"Silver, you gave up the-"

"Tis a life-long obsession, Jimbo. I'll get over it," Silver reassured, readjusting his grip on Neera as Morph cuddled up against the girl's face reassuringly.

"Aloha Jimmy!" BEN called from above, getting their attentions. The _RLS Legacy_ descended rapidly in front of them with BEN hanging haphazardly over the side pointing at ticking clock: "Hurry people! We got exactly 2 minutes and 34 seconds till PLANET DESCTRUCTION!"

Up on the steering platform, Jim could see Doppler working the wheel.

"Alright now, you're doing fine!" the injured Amelia encouraged Doppler who was frantic at the wheel, "Alright, now ease her over gently-GENTLY!"

The _RLS Legacy_ smashed into the side of the cliff, knocking several rocks from their places.

Jim crawled aboard and Silver handed Neera over to him before following suit. As soon as Silver's mechanical foot left the ground, Doppler steered the ship up and away.

"Take us out of here, Metal Man!" Amelia ordered BEN who obediently turned and begin on the task at hand.

"Aye, Captain!"

They zoomed over the disintegrating ground; purple lasers broke through the miles and miles of machinery to pierce the air around them as explosions racked the surface, throwing high columns of fire and intense heat into the air.

Silver ran halfway up the stairs to the steering platform before turning to Amelia peeling off his hat in a sad sign of respect for the woman whose ship he'd commandeered right out from under her nose, "Captain, yeh dropped from the heavens in the nick o' ti-"

"Save your clap-trap for the judge, Silver," she spat venomously before turning to help Doppler steer the ship in her place.

Silver's chuckle trailed off awkwardly.

"Mike!" Neera called, stumbling along the hallway that led to her and her brother's room. Hopefully he'd done everything she told him to do and was in there waiting for her. He had to be, Neera wouldn't accept it any other way.

"Nee-nee?" the voice was muffled but Neera heard it and sped up her pace a little. When she finally reached their room, she slammed the door open and fell back into the opposite wall as a blond-haired blur rammed into her. Mike wrapped his little arms around her waist and buried his face in her blood-soaked shirt. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity, Mike muffling his sobs in her shirt and Neera cooing softly. After a while, Mike finally looked up at his sister, snot and tears still leaking down his face.

"I-I hid j-just like - _sniff_ - just like you a-asked," he whimpered and buried his face in her shirt again and wiping his nose in it. Neera ignored her initial disgust and hugged her brother closer to her.

"Yeah you did. I'm so proud of you Mike," she cooed quietly, petting his hair softly. Another few minutes passed and when Mike's sobs quieted into hiccups, the little boy looked up at his sister, staring in horror at the blood that covered her front. He opened his mouth but when no words came out, he closed it again. He tried again.

"I…I don't like this movie anymore, Nee. I wanna go home!" Tears threatened to fall again and Neera hugged her brother tightly.

"Shhh, it's ok Mike. We'll go home soon; I promise."

In truth, Neera had absolutely no clue on how they could get home. They'd gotten here by complete accident; and through a TV no less, so how in the world had they managed to get sucked into it. This was a movie; a world that didn't really exist, a _cartoon_, but everything looked normal. _'Well as far as normal goes anyway,'_ Neera internally scoffed. The characters didn't look like cartoons; more like real people, the kind you see in action movies like 'Die Hard' or 'James Bond'.

"C'mon now," Neera peeled her brother off of her and struggled to stand. The loss of blood had made her quite dizzy and she hated the way the ship lurched and rocked under her. Mike didn't seem too feel it so she figured it was just her, "Let's get to the Captain and see if there's anything we can do to help."

Mike looked like he was about to protest, suggesting that staying in their room under a mound of blankets sounded like a better idea but followed her out onto the deck.

It looked like hell had been let loose.

The planet's ground was coming apart at the seams, the innermost explosions lifting the puzzle-like pieces into the air. Fire leaked out of every available crack or hole and the purple lasers were still tearing the interior of the planet to bits.

Neera found Jim hunched over a broken slab of metal and a sparking engine piece near the railing.

"Mike, go up and stay with Amelia and Doppler now," Neera ordered and steadily made her way over the deck to Jim.

She knew what was happening. She could remember seeing this part of the movie. The main sail had been taken out by a flying chunk of rock and something about the thrusters not being at full capacity. They wouldn't clear the explosion in time. Neera allowed herself a second to curse Captain Flint's greed, even after death.

_'Stupid Flint with his stupid greed and his stupid treasure with his stupid explosions!'_ Neera cursed.

"Pardon me Jim, but didn't that portal open onto a _raging inferno?!_" Doppler screeched over the sounds of explosions from said inferno.

"Yes," Jim, pulled the slab of metal out of the pile with a grunt, "But I'm gonna change that! I'm gonna open a different door!" he explained to both the Captain and Doppler. Neera could see the gears working in Silver's head as he used his mechanical eye to spy the glowing green sphere of planets near the base of the portal.

Doppler however didn't seem to be following Jim or Silver's line of thought.

"Captain, really, I don't see how any of this can possibly-"

"Listen to the boy!" Silver interrupted, making his way past Neera and towards Jim who was struggling with the engine piece.

"One minute and 29 seconds until planet destruction!" BEN called out above the squabble, fingers flying over the keys on his mini-computer.

"What do you need Jim?" Silver hunched over the slab of metal and the engine with Neera in tow.

"Just some way to attach this," Jim threw a rope over the engine and began to tie it down when Silver shoved it out of the way holding his mechanical arm-turned welder.

"Alright, stand back! Stand back now!" he warned before he set to work. A cascade of blue sparks issued from the melding metal before Silver finished. It wasn't the greatest work ever but it would do the job. "Here you go!" he grunted as he helped Jim heft the crudely made board onto the railing's side. Morph even helped a little, squeaking 'Here you go!' before floating up to Silver's face.

Jim jumped up on the board, settling his feet in a secure position before turning to Neera and Silver, "Ok now, no matter what happens, keep the ship heading straight for that portal!"

Silver stared worriedly at the young man before him for a second but didn't say anything.

"58 seconds!" BEN called frantically from his spot near the steering deck and Jim spared a glance in the robot's direction. Turning back to Silver and Neera, Jim was not expecting the girl to reach up and grasp his shirt, pulling him down to her level and planting her lips firmly on his. He was bent awkwardly over the board but for that moment, Jim couldn't care less. Neera was kissing him, trying to express all of her feelings through that one kiss. For a second, Jim thought the Seer was only kissing him because he was going to die. That thought was brought crumbling down when she broke the kiss.

"When you fall, look to the wall. It'll save you," she gasped, still breathless from the kiss.

Jim's gaze hardened and he nodded curtly before kick-starting the engine and lurching into the heated air of the exploding planet. As he rounded about the _RLS Legacy_, he heard Neera shouting after him.

"You better come back to me!"

Despite the dire situation, Jim couldn't help but smile. With a new sense of hope, Jim set off to the portal to hopefully save everyone's lives.

Silver eyed Neera as she slumped against the railing. The blood-loss and the large amounts of adrenaline coursing through her system was not going easy on her body. One moment she felt fine and dandy, then the next she felt so dizzy and faint she thought she would keel over. Neera felt Silver's gaze on her and looked up at the cyborg.

"What?" she asked, wiping her sweat-covered face with her sleeve. The cyborg smiled almost knowingly as he scratched his chin.

"Come back to yeh, eh?" he chuckled as Neera's face turned beet-red in a second. Instead of teasing the girl further, Silver turned to where Amelia and Doppler commanded the wheel; "Well, you heard him!" he yelled up at them, "Get this blasted heap turned 'round!"

Amelia's eyes widened and if she noticed the sudden change in Silver's actions, she didn't comment. Instead she turned to Doppler.

"Doctor, head us back to the portal."

"Aye Captain," Doppler answered unsurely but complying with the Captain's orders and turned the wheel. The ship made a sharp U-turn, narrowly missing several flying bits of rock and laser beams.

Jim sped through the air like a bullet. It was like riding his solar-surfer again, only more dangerous, fiery and he had more than just his own life at stake. The puzzle-like pieces of the planet were rising faster now, sending Jim veering hard to the left and right to avoid crashing.

Left, right, over, under, left again. Jim weaved and ducked through the chaos. The engine sputtered and died but a quick stomp on the starter-pedal brought it back to life. Left, left, over, right. A sudden pillar rose directly in front of Jim and he twisted his way past it, just narrowly missing the edge by the skin of his teeth.

Back on the _RLS Legacy_ Doppler was having a harder time dodging the rising pillars. A pillar appeared suddenly and Doppler threw his weight into the steering wheel, forcing the ship to turn away from it. While he narrowly missed the pillar, it clipped the ship and broke off one of the balancers that kept the ship steady. Amelia was leaning against the railing of the steering platform barking out orders for Doppler to follow but the constant commands was beginning to wear on the good doctor.

"Now to the right- THE RIGHT!" Amelia growled, her short fuse growing shorter by the minute as Doppler continued steering the ship horribly.

"I know! I know! Will you just let me drive!" Doppler snarled back. He was so focused on not steering them into a fiery death that he completely missed the look of complete and utter shock that painted Amelia's face. It wasn't every day the calm, timid and usually tongue-tied Doctor lost his cool and barked out orders and commands like a captain.

The ship continued to swerve out of the way of several exploding pillars. BEN was still standing hunched over his post, monitoring the count-down to planet destruction.

"25 seconds!" he screamed frantically, fingers flying about on the keypads. His eyes had long since taken a red hue as the clocks counted down.

The engine sputtered and died again. Jim cursed his luck; this had been the fourth time already. He stomped on the starter-pedal again. The engine turned but no fire came out. He stomped on it again; the engine turned again but remained dead to him.

"No! No!" Jim stomped on the starter-pedal again and again, hoping; praying that it would start. His acceleration died and Jim could feel himself start to plummet. But instead of hitting the ground like he thought he would, he continued falling. A quick look at his surroundings showed a deep chasm forged from a laser; a deep chasm leading to the molten center of the exploding planet. And he was falling down it. Jim continued stomping on the starter-pedal as the heat from the molten pool below him rushed up to meet him.

"C'mon lad!" Silver hissed under his breath, heart beating frantically in his chest. The boy he'd grown so fond of was falling to his death. A death that awaited them all if Jim didn't make it in time. Neera leaned precariously over the edge of the railing, wounds be damned, and screamed.

"The wall, you idiot! THE WALL!"

Jim continued slamming his foot down on the starter-pedal as hard as he could. Nothing was working! Panic edged its way into his heart. Was this really how he was going to die?

"_17 seconds_!" BEN screamed as the clocks continued counting down.

Jim slammed his foot down on the blasted starter-pedal one last time with a frustrated cry. No! This was not how he wanted to die!

_'When you fall, look to the wall. It'll save you.'_ Neera's voice echoed in his head. Well, he was definitely falling. Jim glared at the wall not a few meters away from him. The wall? What could the wall possibly do for him- Jim's eyes widened in realization and he lunged his way over to it. Kick-flipping the crude board so that the engine faced the wall, Jim shoved the tail end into it. Sparks flew as metal scraped against metal. But Jim continued to fall. And fall. And fall. And-

BOOM!

The metal from the engine began glowing a hot, cherry-red as the friction from the metal-on-metal brought the damnable engine to life with a resounding bang. Jim's rapid descent was halted abruptly and Jim had to hang onto the edge of the board as to not be thrown off. Shooting up from his would-be death of molten gold like a rocket, Jim steered his board towards the top of the chasm. As he neared the top of the chasm he saw the belly of the _RLS Legacy_ pass overhead and his heart lurched. He was supposed to be in front of them! He finally reached the top edge of the chasm and lowered his body closer to his board so that he was nothing more than a blur as he sped towards the glowing green orb that promised their freedom from this madness. He had to reach the orb before the ship did.

"Seven!" BEN read aloud, hope dwindling with each number he read, "Six!"

Jim had to reach the orb. He just had to!

"Five!"

Only less than a hundred meters left.

"Four!"

Jim willed his board to go faster.

"Three!"

Only a few meters left.

"TWO!"

Jim's fingers closed in on the glowing green orb for the last time and pushed the symbol of a crescent moon.

* * *

**DUN DUN DAAAAH! **

**...**

**...**

**.**

**...**

**...**

**The End! **

**...**

**...**

**.**

**...**

**...**

**Or is it? Since I love you all so very, very much, I decided ****_not_**** to end the chapter here and make it more than an even 10 chapters (Even numbers are amazing!). So here is a little more love from your favorite author, White Wolf Writers.  
**

* * *

~oO0Oo~

* * *

It was a beautiful day at the Montressor Space Port. The winds were steady; the port was alive with sounds and smells as people went about their usual business. The Etherium was calm as swirls blues and purples swirled peacefully-

The golden-edged portal opened up to the peaceful blue expanse of Montressor Space Port. The _RLS Legacy_ shot out of it like a cork in a pressurized bottle as the planet behind it exploded, raining down enormous waves of metal, fire and debris. With one final explosion that dwarfed all the previous ones, Treasure Planet destroyed the portal mechanism and the golden-edged portal closed in on itself, thus limiting the amount of fire and debris that shot towards the ship like a hand reaching out to destroy the vessel that brought about its downfall.

Jim steered his board around the charred and damaged ship, cheering at their victory, their survival, their success.

"Wooha!" Jim let loose a wild cry as the feeling of pure accomplishment and relief flooded his system. They were alive! Alive! He could hear Silver yelling and cheering from the deck, as Neera jumped up and down, screaming with joy Mike dashed to where his sister was to hug her fiercely. Maneuvering the board, Jim zoomed over where Silver was leaning over the railing, still cheering.

"Yeh done it, boy! Ah ha ha ha!" Silver laughed heartily as Jim came zooming in and high-fived the boy as he sped past. Morph screamed happily before exploding in a multitude of fireworks and confetti.

"AH! Didn't I say the lad had greatness in him?!" Silver boomed proudly over the sounds of Morph's explosions. From below, Jim could hear the captured pirates yelling and cheering happily as well.

Jim maneuvered the board to the side of the ship and kicked off it to land the deck where Neera promptly crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. Morph came up and began licking his face animatedly like a dog welcoming home its owner, gurgling and giggling all the while. Mike joined his sister in the hug and wrapped himself around Jim's leg, crying and laughing into his pants.

"Oh gods Jim, please don't ever do something like that again!" Neera cried into his neck. Jim laughed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. As if he'd _ever_ do something that crazy again. Neera loosened her grip on Jim to look up at his face with a wide grin; "I'm just happy you're safe!"

He didn't know what drove him to do it; it could have been the way he held her that made it feel so right or the way those chocolate brown eyes of hers sparkled when she looked at him, but nevertheless, Jim leaned down and pulled the girl in his arms in for a kiss. He could feel Neera smile into the kiss but it didn't bother him as he deepened it. He could feel Mike let go of his leg and could hear the boy say 'yuck' as they kissed but Jim couldn't care less. Neera twined her fingers through his hair pulling him closer before they broke the kiss, leaving them both gasping for air and red-faced.

"I'm glad you're safe too," he panted, a feeling of pride blooming somewhere in his stomach as Neera's blush deepened.

Captain Amelia and Doppler walked up to them, clearing their throats. If it was even possible, Neera's blush deepened and she retracted her arms from around Jim's neck. But before she could shy away, Jim wrapped an arm around her shoulder, keeping her with him for just a little while longer. Neera didn't bother struggling, instead nuzzling up against his chest.

"Unorthodox, but ludicrously effective," Amelia praised as Morph flew off to find Silver standing not far from the stairs leading to the steering platform, "I'd be proud to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you."

Morph settled himself on the cyborg's shoulder, sighing happily. Silver was so proud of Jim. When the boy had first come down in the galley, he'd been a trouble-making nobody with no direction in life. And now, he was a young man with a future. With a good-looking lass on his arm at that.

"Just wait until your mother hears about this!" Doppler exclaimed excitedly, "First we may downplay the life-threatening parts," the doctor added hastily as he imagined the terrifying look on Sarah's face if they didn't edit some parts out. Jim held back a chuckle and Doppler went to go stand beside Amelia, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder with a smile. Neera slipped out of Jim's arms with a smile and held her brother's hand as they stood beside Amelia and Doppler while Ben crept up to Jim.

"Jimmy?" BEN stepped up carefully looking like a kicked puppy, "That was," the robot paused for only a millisecond before exploding, "UNFORGETTABLE! I know you don't like touching but; get ready for a hug big guy, 'cause I gotta hug ya!" The deranged robot flung himself at Jim, wrapping his arms around the young man and laughing manically. Jim rolled his eyes before he hugged BEN back, swinging him around before putting him back on the ground. BEN stared at Jim in shock.

"Hey! You hugged me back!" he exclaimed happily before he began sniffling, "Oh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry!" and the sad little robot was reduced to loud awkward sobs.

Neera smiled. Now that all the danger and explosions were over with, she found it tons more enjoyable. Here people actually wanted to spend time with her and her brother, unlike her parents. Neera briefly wondered if they had even noticed their children were missing; after all, several weeks had gone by since she and Mike got sucked into the movie. _'Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad,'_ Neera thought to herself with a small smile.

"Nee-nee! You're glowing!"

Mike's voice broke the calm on the group as everyone turned to stare at Neera who was indeed glowing with a faint white light, as was her brother.

"What's going on?" Neera stared at her glowing hands. This wasn't right. Was it some form of radiation from the explosion?

Mike let out a yelp as he began floating slowly upwards. Doppler grabbed the floating boy, successfully keeping him grounded on deck.

"Neera!" Jim grabbed the girl just as her feet left the ground. Neera clutched at Jim's shirt fearfully. What the hell was going on?!

"Neera, lass, what's goin' on?" Silver boomed as he strode over where the group huddled around the glowing, floating siblings. He'd planned on making a quiet getaway in the last remaining longboat but after Mike's initial cry of fear, he'd turned back and seen the little fellow begin to glow.

"I-I don't know," Neera choked as the upward pull strengthened and Jim strengthened his grip on her.

"Neera!" Mike cried out fearfully and Doppler hugged the boy closer to himself to calm him. The upward pull strengthened some more and Jim's grip slipped but he managed to grab Neera's arms almost painfully. Deep in his gut, Jim had a feeling that if he let go, he would loose Neera forever. No! He was not going to let go; he was not going to loose her.

Neera's shoulder-length red-brown hair began floating, almost as if she were underwater. She was scared, he could tell. There were tears in her eyes that threatened to spill and she grasped at Jim's forearms almost as tightly as he held her.

"Don't let me go," Neera pleaded as the pull got stronger and Jim struggled to retain his hold on her, "Please; please don't let me go."

Jim grunted as he tried pulling her down towards him but to no avail, "I won't, I promise."

The weightless sensation increased and Neera felt Jim's grip on her falter as he struggled. It was getting harder and harder to hold her down; Neera knew it, Jim knew it, Doppler and Mike knew it, everyone knew it.

_'…home…'_ a voice whispered softly in Neera's head.

Home? Were they going home? But the movie wasn't over yet, not by a long shot. And Neera had just finally come to terms with being stuck here in the world of Treasure Planet; with Mike and Jim and Doppler and Amelia. She wanted to stay here with Jim. She wanted to stay here where she was loved. She wanted to stay.

Whatever brought them to this world wanted to take them home _now_? After everything that had happened, it wanted to take Neera and Mike home now that they wanted to stay?

"No! I don't wanna go home!" Neera whimpered as the tears she'd held at bay finally fell. But instead of falling to the deck, they began floating upwards, towards the rigging and Solar Sails and the vest expanse of the Etherium. Mike screamed frantically as Doppler finally lost his grip on the boy and he floated up to hover amongst the rigging. Once he finally stopped moving upward, the pale white glow that surrounded him seemed to strengthen, giving him an angelic look if not for the fear that marked his features.

"Neera," Jim grunted as the pull grew more and more intense, "I don't know if I can hold on much longer!"

Neera's heart lurched into her throat, "No! Please! Please, don't let me go! I don't wanna go home! I wanna stay here with you!" the tears fell harder and continued floating up to where Mike hovered in the air. Jim's eyes widened.

"You're…going home?" he asked, shock marring his features. Neera was going home? Glowing white like an angel sent from heaven and floating towards the sky; that was going home? Jim couldn't help a small grin from spreading in understanding.

"You really are an angel, aren't you, Neera?"

Neera stared at him flabbergasted and gave a small choked laugh, "God, you are so cheesy!"

The upward pull lessened somewhat and Neera tentatively reached down and held Jim's face in her hands, staring deep into his blue-gray eyes. This might be the last time she sees them like this.

"Neera," Jim whispered, gently stroking her face and wiping away the tears that still stained her face. God, even while crying she was just the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Especially now; her hair floated about her peacefully as if she were underwater and her eyes sparkled with remnant tears.

Neera closed the gap between the two of them and kissed Jim for all that she was worth. She loved him, he loved her. There was nothing else. She ran her fingers through his hair one last time, tasted his lips one last time, felt his warmth one last time.

They broke apart gasping for breath and before Jim could even give her one last hug goodbye, she floated up to join her brother. She was crying silently, tears running down her face as she grinned one last time; one last heart-breaking smile. The white glow grew brighter and brighter and just before Jim shut his eyes to block out the bright light, Neera mouthed something.

The white glow intensified and with a flash, she was gone. Neera and Mike were gone; vanished. Jim felt something warm and wet slide down his face and he reached up to find out what it was. A single tear slid down his face. Jim felt a large hand on his shoulder and looked up in time to see Silver pull him into a hug.

Jim heard Amelia and Doppler speaking to him but it was as if they had been muffled. All he could hear was Neera's last words to him. Even though he hadn't heard her speak it out loud, he knew what she meant. He knew what she said those precious moments before she disappeared. He was a genius after all.

_'I love you.'_

* * *

~oO0Oo~

* * *

It was dark; dark and warm. Neera floated in the darkness, oblivious to everything. She was happy here. She didn't know why, but here in the darkness, she was happy.

"Nee-nee!" Mike's voice echoed in the darkness.

Neera smiled. Her little brother; she loved her little brother. Where was he? They were going to go to the park today. Or was that yesterday?

"Nee-nee!" Mike called again, less echo-y this time.

Neera's back hurt. Why did it hurt? Had she slept wrong? Had Mike pushed her off the bed again?

"Nee-nee!" Mike urged, louder this time and much less echo-y; it sounded like he was right next to her.

Neera grumbled. It was still dark; she could sleep a little while longer. What did Mike want so early in the morning?

"Nee-nee!" Neera felt a small hand smack her cheek.

"Ow, Mike! What the hell?" Neera shot up from her place on the floor. Her initial anger gave way to surprised shock as she realized where she was.

She was home. More specifically, she was lying in front of the TV in the living room, snacks and ice cream still laid out on the table.

"Wha…" Neera gaped at the scene. Mike, who had been crouched in front of her poking her to wake her up, walked back to the couch and began snacking on the candy and still-frozen ice-cream. Everything was just as they'd left it. Had they really been sucked into a movie? Neera glanced at the TV. It was dark and blank and black smoke was coming out of the DVD player.

"Holy shit!" Neera yelped as she ran for the nearest fire extinguisher as flames began shooting out of the device.

After a few hectic moments of battling with the fire extinguisher to make it work and putting out the flames before they spread, Neera collapsed on the couch exhausted. Mike just sat and stared at her. This worried Neera. The only times he'd ever been this quiet was when he'd done something really bad or accidentally glued his mouth shut with superglue.

"What did you do?"

Mike giggled and Neera felt her stomach drop. Okay, he'd done something really, _really_ bad. Before she could catch him to interrogate him, Mike jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs to his sister's room.

"Mike! Tell me! What did you do?" Neera jumped over the back of the couch and ran to catch her brother. She had just reached the top of the stairs when she heard her bedroom door slam shut. Sneaking up to the door, Neera pressed an ear to the wood. She couldn't exactly hear what was going on but she could hear Mike's voice saying something in there. Neera's heart stopped when she heard another voice, deep and unfamiliar and most definitely _not _her brother's, answer the little blond boy.

Neera wasted no time kicking her bedroom door open to engage the intruder and throw him out of her house, but what she saw halted her in her tracks.

There, on her bed, sat a 20-year old man with short brown hair and piercing blue-gray eyes, in a white and gold-trimmed uniform. The young man looked up abruptly at Neera's sudden entrance and his shocked expression melted into a loving gaze that rooted her to the spot unable to breathe.

"Hey Neera, glad to see you finally woke up."

…

…

…

"Jim?"

* * *

**Aaaaaaand CLIFFHANGER!**

**Oh my God! I surprise myself with how utterly evil I am! MWAHAHAHA! Like I stated at the top, this will be the last OFFICIAL chapter of 'An Unexpected Journey' and I am leaving myself with a little material to work with if I ever want to write an unofficial add-on to this story. I write fan fiction as a hobby and sometimes even as a stress reliever or just to get some smut off my chest. **

**I may or may not make something more of this but we'll see.**

**Firstly, regarding the unofficial chapter idea: How many would actually read a 'sequel' of this story if I made one? If no one's interested that's fine because I do have other fan fics to play with. I am just wondering because I have had some lovely reviews and PM's regarding this story. PM me if you have any ideas, comments or reviews.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello my beloved readers and followers and whatever you may be! I have gotten many, many, many requests about making a sequel to this story. I'd love to, I would really, really like to write another story following Neera and her brother and maybe further exploring the strange and cute relationship between Neera and Jim. But alas, my Well of Writing Ideas has run dry and I can't come up with anything. Even my '2'oclock-In-The-Morning Muse' has abandoned me! **

**So now I turn to you. **

**Ideas! I need them!**

**PM me with any and all ideas you can come up with and hopefully inspire my Well of Writing Ideas and my Muse will love me and help me out a bit.**

**Have fun and I look forward to hearing from you!**

**~White Wolf Writers**


	12. Chapter 12

Hello there dear readers! I love you, please don't hurt me.

Unfortunately this is not a story update so I'm sorry for crushing your hopes and dreams.

I am so, so, so, so sorry that I haven't updated in like forever but my husband (my beloved computer) was violently hacked by some dumbfuck and is currently not working. I can't even make it past the Windows loading screen before it kills itself. I am so pissed! Trust me when I say that when I find the hacker responsible, I will stab him in the eye with a fucking fork! I am that pissed! My hard drive isn't working and while there is a high chance that all my files will be recoverable (cross your fingers!) I will not be able to work on any of my stories for now. I am having someone come over this weekend to fix up my husband but until then, my beloved computer is in a coma. On top of that, studying for my upcoming finals without a computer is also proving to be rather difficult but I'm managing.

Anyway, I hope to have another long chapter up and running next week but don't get your hopes up too high. I still have finals to study for and unfortunately, those have my first priority.

~White Wolf Writers~


	13. Chapter 13

Hey, White Wolf Writers here,

Unfortunately this is not an update as much as I wish it was. My computer's status has not changed and there have been some serious problems in recovering my files. But the people who are helping me are convinced that it is not a lost cause and that (eventually) they will be able to resurrect my computer and my files along with it. But unfirtunately doing something that like will require money and as soon as I am more financially stable, that will be the first thing I do.

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and thank those who are still willing to follow me from the bottom of my butt. (I'd say heart but my butt's bigger.)


End file.
